


Cloud Through The Looking Glass

by NightOwl1



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alpha Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cloud Vs Sexism, Dad!Vincent, Dramedy, Family Fluff, Happy Ending, Hojo (Compilation of FFVII) Being An Asshole, M/M, Omega Cloud Strife, Time Travel, World Hopping Disguised as Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 65,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29043720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightOwl1/pseuds/NightOwl1
Summary: Cloud meets a young Sephiroth in a dream world, and befriends the child who could one day be his mortal enemy. When he wakes up he believes he's traveled back in time and has a chance to change things for the better... However, there's something different with this world, and what the hell is an Omega?Or the ABO Time Travel fic no one asked for but got anyway for Sefikura Week!
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Comments: 120
Kudos: 530





	1. Dreaming In The Lifestream

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, I've got about half a dozen WIP for other fandoms but after finishing Final Fantasy VII Remake (That I got for Christmas) I went and started yet another long fic in another fandom. I hadn't been into this pairing for years, and the Remake had awakened that old flame. So sorry guys if you're still waiting on updates for my other fics, but for Sefikura fans; Yay! As it says on the tin can, it's an ABO fic but with a Canon!Cloud wondering what the hell is wrong with this world, all while trying to change events he knows will come. After weeks of sifting the internet for Sefikura fics, I could not find an ABO timetravel fic like this, so I made one. I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Updates will be sporadic.

Cloud Through The Looking Glass

Chapter One:

Dreaming in the Lifestream

Cloud floated in a sea of mako-green. Barely aware of anything besides the peace of floating and letting the current take him where it pleases. The peace was short lived. Like a knife, visions, no- memories dragged him from his blissful sleep. The last Cetra praying to save the planet from The Calamity's Son that seeks to destroy it. Sephiroth burning his village. A last stand at the Northern Crater with his rag-tag team to stop him. The Geostigma plague, the planet's curse for draining it of its lifeblood. Sephiroth returning through remnants and stopping him once again. Cloud finding forgiveness and peace, but still so haunted by the past. Never will Sephiroth remain just a memory...

Cloud began swimming through the lifestream. He didn't know how he got there, but he needed to move. He could feel it. Sephiroth was still in the lifestream and he had to be stopped. As long as his spirit existed it would keep returning. Sephiroth will never rest. A flash of silver hair caught Cloud's eye. A stab through his mind like a needle, a connection grating painfully against his entire being. A distant call of Jenova chanting _reunion_.

The first thing Cloud was aware of was a patch of rich green in a sea of grey metal. Midgar, somewhere on the upper plate. Before the sector seven plate fell, before Advent Day. The sky swirled with the glowing colors of the lifestream and glittered with stars. A sight that could never be seen in Midgar for all of the smog and pollution it churned out. The whole world had an illusory essence to it. A dream?

Cloud could see skyscrapers looming over a small garden, the tiny bits of green life almost being swallowed up. A rare luxury in Midgar in those days. With the stars twinkling above with ribbons of green light dancing in the sky, it had to be a dream. Aerith's garden was the only place in all of Midgar where any flowers could grow. At least outside of expensive green houses only the rich in the upper crust could afford.

Another flash of silver and sitting there on a patch of grass beneath a blooming cherry tree was a familiar figure. Cloud's entire train of thought derailed at what he saw before him. It was Sephiroth, but he was too small, too skinny. _Too young_ Cloud noticed. He couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen. He was practically a _child_.

The first words that Cloud uttered were, “What the fuck?”

Sephiroth startled and stared up at Cloud as if seeing a ghost, which wasn't far from the truth. At least from Cloud's perspective. “W-who- What are you?!”

Cloud cocked his head. It was surreal to see Sephiroth so young, and terrified of Cloud of all things. It was hard for Cloud to even be scared of his arch enemy when his voice was cracking from the first ravages of puberty and was still so much shorter than him, and much more gangly. He had too long limbs that the rest of his frame had yet to catch up with. And was that a _zit_ on his forehead? It was so wrong to see Sephiroth as a pubescent kid with zits. The Sephiroth Cloud knew did not have zits nor did his voice squeak and crack. He didn't know who Cloud was, and that was the most disconcerting fact.

“Who are you! Are you another soldier? Is this more of Hojo's tests?! He said I could rest!”

Cloud bristled. “Hojo is an asshole. I don't know why I'm here or where 'here' even is.”

Sephiroth relaxed some. “Oh. So you're lost. This is just another one of my dreams. You're some ghost that I'm dreaming up. I'm not actually here either. Hojo puts me on these sedatives that give me vivid dreams like this.”

Cloud watched the child shudder. “It's better when he sedates me... I don't like being awake for those procedures.”

Cloud winced. He knew full well how traumatic it was to be in Hojo's “care”. He still had nightmares about those years, but at least he wasn't raised in a lab like Sephiroth apparently was. “Yeah... It really sucks. Believe me.”

Sephiroth sniffed, holding back tears. “I envy you Mr Ghost. You don't have to go back, you can just float away to someplace else. Not like me.”

Cloud didn't know why this child version of Sephiroth thought he was a ghost. Come to think of it, he seemed to have this green glow around him and his body was transparent. “Shit. Am I dead?”

Sephiroth rolled his eyes at Cloud. “I don't know Mr Ghost. You tell me. You're a product of _my_ imagination.”

Cloud crossed his arms. Sephiroth was acting like a petulant teenager. “I have a name. It's Cloud. Cloud Strife. And I'm not your anything.”

Sephiroth laid back down in his bed. “Whatever, _Raincloud_. Just shut up so I can get some peace and quiet. Hmph, Cloud. What a stupid name...”

Cloud was shocked. Sephiroth was acting like a bratty teenager. Not a megalomaniac villain bent on destroying the world. Sephiroth was just a kid, albeit a bit of a little shit, but still just a kid. A thought occurred to Cloud, maybe this wasn't Sephiroth some how de-aged. Maybe this kid was just another remnant like Kadaj and the others were? “Hey, kid. What's your name?”

Sephiroth rolled over and stared. “It's Sephiroth. Just Sephiroth. Don't have a last name.”

Shit. Cloud's theory of Sephiroth having a kid somewhere just got tossed. He even mentioned Hojo, but the man was dead to Cloud's knowledge. A creeping suspicion came into his mind. “Uh. You have a calendar or something in here? I don't know what today is.”

Sephiroth's eyebrows shot up. “This is just a dream. Why does that matter?”

Cloud ran his fingers through his hair. “I guess you have a point.”

An awkward silence stretched between them. Cloud wasn't sure to do now. He was dreaming of a bratty version of Sephiroth for some reason. A Sephiroth that didn't seem to want to fight or destroy the planet. So Cloud just stood there and stared. Eventually Sephiroth couldn't stand it. “Did you want to sit? It's creepy how you keep staring at me. Hojo rarely lets me sleep this well and I want to make the most of it. I only see this place in my dreams.”

Cloud felt a twinge of pain at the mention of that man, and sat down. Sometimes he forgot that much of what Sephiroth had done, could be blamed on Hojo. It was weird seeing Sephiroth like this. Like he was just a normal kid. A bit sad and lonely but still somewhat normal. Something he never thought would apply to any version of the man... or in this case, a child.

Cloud, curious about this garden, asked, “Is this where you live?”

Sephiroth pointed up at the Shinra building that towered over all of Midgar. “That's where I live. It's supposed to be the greatest city on the planet. But this garden doesn't exist in Midgar. It was Professor Gast and his wife's. It's my favorite place to visit but... it doesn't exist anymore. It's gone, just like Gast. Left me without so much as a goodbye.”

Professor Gast. Aerith's father. Cloud knew what happened to the poor man, he didn't know that Sephiroth had known Aerith's parents. “I guess you can blame Hojo on that.”

Sephiroth looked up at Cloud, the child's curiosity perked. “What do you mean?”

Cloud blinked. Did he really not know? “Hojo had Gast killed, and took his wife and daughter for experiments. I think they escaped by now and their daughter is in hiding from Shinra.”

Sephiroth hugged his knees tighter. “He said that Gast had left me, wasn't interested in me anymore...”

Cloud bit his lip, he felt like he was telling a kid that Santa or the Easter Moogle wasn't real. “Sorry... I'm sure Gast liked you, but Hojo is a dirty liar and a complete idiot. I'm sure he probably told you a lot of things. Most of which is untrue. Hojo can't be trusted.”

Like Jenova, Cloud darkly thought. Hojo probably twisted Sephiroth in the monster he became. Seeing this child before him, he couldn't see the monster he became now. Cloud wondered if this dream was some kind weird wish fulfillment of his. Of that part of him that desperately wanted the hero he worshiped to not be a monster, or at least somewhere deep down.

Sephiroth had a blank look, one that spoke of a spark of innocence being snuffed out or the disappointment Cloud once saw in Marlene when they thought Barret wouldn't be coming back from Shinra. Cloud immediately felt bad for telling the kid the truth. He had forgotten that it was the truth of Sephiroth's origins that sent him over the edge. Cloud ruffled Sephiroth's hair, forgetting that he wasn't Denzel or Marlene. “Hey, things are bleak, but you're not alone. I'm sure you've got friends.”

That part was true. Cloud remembered that Sephiroth and Zack were pretty close. Sephiroth shook his head. “Hojo said that I'm supposed to be this perfect Alpha warrior for the new SOLDIER program and in need of no companionship of any kind. That's why none of the other kids hang out with me.”

Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose. “Seriously, that asshole is probably saying that because he doesn't have any friends. Just don't listen to him.”

Cloud couldn't believe what he was about to do, and knew Tifa would punch him back into the lifestream if she ever found out about this. Cloud offered his hand to this child version of his nemesis. “Look, I'll be your friend. Okay? That's one friend more that Hojo doesn't have. Just promise me you won't try to be some evil megalomaniac bent on destroying the planet.”

Sephiroth looked up at Cloud in shock. “You have a low standard of friendship if the only requirement is to not destroy the planet.”

Cloud actually chuckled. “You'd be surprised how many people still manage to limbo under that bar. Hojo and President Shinra for starters.”

Sephiroth laughed, but not evilly. It was a genuine laugh, and was that a real not-creepy smile? Sephiroth looked like a normal kid, and dare he say it, but a kid Cloud could call a _friend_? Sephiroth took his hand and shook it, suddenly looking unsure. “Am I doing this right? I'm not sure what you do with friends. I see other kids do it with their friends.”

Cloud smiled at him. “Yeah, you're doing alright so far. Sometimes just sitting with a friend and just listening when they need to vent is enough.”

Sephiroth bit his lip. “Vent, huh? Well since you're my friend, Cloud, will you listen, and let me vent?”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah, tell me what's on your mind. I'll help you sort it out if I can.”

“Well... Hojo said that Shinra wants me to go out onto the battlefield soon. Says they're losing the war in Wutai. Hojo says I'm ready, but... I've only done battle simulations and fought monsters from the lab. I've never fought real people!”

Cloud winced. He never knew that Sephiroth had been so young when he'd fought in the Wutai War, but... he had. It was easier to see Sephiroth as an enemy when you forgot that he probably never had a choice to turn out the way he did. Cloud's only advice was, “You can always run away.”

Sephiroth wilted, visibly disappointed. “I thought about that, but Hojo and Shinra will hunt me like a rabid dog for the rest of my life. Besides, where would I go? I don't have any family or any hometown or anything.”

That last part wasn't true. Cloud knew that Sephiroth was born in Nibelheim. It was when he was sent to Nibelheim that what little humanity Hojo let him keep was ripped away with half-truths. Cloud debated telling Sephiroth about his origins, but maybe if he learned the whole story he'd be better? Cloud swallowed. “You have a hometown. You were born in Nibelheim. Like me.”

Sephiroth blinked. “I've never heard of it.”

Cloud felt a memory of Zack bubble up and it made him smile. “It's a small town. There's a reactor there. Since there's a reactor there, then there's nothing else there.”

Sephiroth didn't laugh. He simply looked at Cloud like a confused puppy, or maybe a tiger cub since comparing Sephiroth to anything that could grow up to be harmless seemed wrong somehow. “It was a joke.”

“It didn't sound very funny.”

“It is when you've lived long enough in a small town, city boy.”

Sephiroth did laugh that time. It was rather cathartic to see him become a little more human. “So, Cloud... Tell me more about this hometown of ours. Do I have a family there?”

You burn it to the ground, was the first thought that popped into Cloud's head, but he refrained from saying that aloud. He wondered if Sephiroth's lack of human ties was what drove him off the deep end. Cloud debated on what to tell the kid. Sephiroth learning the truth of his origins never went well, but Cloud reminded himself that this was just a dream. “Well, I suppose you have family there. If a maybe-father counts.”

“A 'maybe-father?' What's that supposed to mean?”

Cloud ran his fingers through the back of his hair. A nervous habit of his that he always had. The fact of Hojo being Sephiroth's flesh and blood was still up for debate. Cloud saw no resemblance between Hojo and Sephiroth. None whatsoever. Cloud had seen Lucretia in that crystal cave she had entombed herself in. Sephiroth certainly took after his mother, but on more than one occasion he would catch himself stealing glimpses of Vincent, but never had the courage to ask his friend. The nose, the jawline, the build, even the curve of Vincent's lips were identical to Sephiroth's.

“I'm not sure if Hojo is your father. I mean, it was his wife that gave birth to you, but you look a lot more like Vincent and he did get romantically involved with her. At least just before she broke things off and married Hojo, and announce a pregnancy. The timing of it still puts Vincent in the running. I'm not sure why she married Hojo since he's such an ogre of a man. So really, its a bit of coin toss between the two, I'd put my gil on Vincent.”

Sephiroth was quiet for a long time. Then, “You mean Hojo's wife... My mother?! You know about my mother? Hojo told me nothing of her except that her name was Jenova.”

The name was enough to make Cloud shudder. A stab of needles and a seductive voice whisper, _reunion_. Cloud's skin crawled at hearing The Calamity's name. Cloud corrected Sephiroth. “Jenova isn't your mother. I want to make that very clear. Your mother's name was Lucretia Crescent. She was a scientist like Hojo and married him for reasons I cannot fathom. Vincent, your more probable father, thought that it was perhaps that Hojo promised to fund her research on her Chaos Theory, or she felt guilty for not preventing some lab accident that got Vincent's father killed. Again, no one knows how that woman's mind worked, but she's still your mother and she really loved you. She wanted to hold you when you were born, but Hojo took you away and wouldn't let your mother see you even once.”

“But then... Who is Jenova if not my mother?”

There it was. Cloud saw a little of the Sephiroth he knew. Not the terrible destroying god, but a lost soul seeking his mother. Some form of roots that he could connect with, to be grounded. The problem was, that Jenova was as far from the ground as possible. “Jenova was an extraterrestrial being that caused the extinction of the Ancients, an alien parasite that goes from planet to planet wiping out life. The Ancients imprisoned her in mako and Hojo, the dumbass, dug her up and decided it was a grand idea to inject some her cells into pregnant women thinking that she was an Ancient. Gast warned him to rebury her, and Hojo ignored Gast. Jenova is not your mother or anybody else's, she's an alien virus.”

Cloud could see Sephiroth's world crumble, but he hoped that it would have something better built in place. Cloud knelt down beside him, laying the truth on Sephiroth, hopefully in a way that was a lot more gentle than Hojo's dangerous half-truths. “Your real mother was an unhappily married woman to a horrible man and had an affair with another better man who worked as 'The Help' and lost custody of you to Hojo in the ensuing divorce. A story that you share with a lot of other people. Hojo may tell you that you're a god or a descendant of the ancients but you're not.”

Sephiroth's eyes pricked with tears, and Cloud gently lifted his head up. “You're something better than all those. You're a human. Like everyone else.”

“How is that better? Isn't being unique and special the better thing?!”

Cloud smiled at the memory of all the friends he had made. He had once been alone, a singular supposed ex-SOLDIER. A unique creature, but then he made friends and became stronger. “Being unique means that you're alone. It's a trap that isolates you, and makes you weak. Hojo may tell you that you don't need friends, but friends make you stronger. Never forget that you're never alone. That's where I found my strength; in my friends. I'm your friend now, so you're not alone anymore.”

Sephiroth hugged him awkwardly. Cloud could feel him getting snot and tears on his clothes but he didn't mind. He needed this. Maybe this was his discarded humanity trying to find itself? After a long moment, Sephiroth grew quiet. His fingers curled around his shirt and played with the Fenrir emblem that was on his pauldron. “Like a wolf...”

“Hmmm?” Cloud grunted.

Sephiroth sniffed back his tears and weakly smiled. “Like a wolf, Cloud. Wolves hunt in packs. By themselves they have less a chance of survival but together they can take down much larger foes then they could alone.”

Cloud smiled. “Yeah. We're like wolves.”

He paused at seeing Sephiroth play with the Fenrir accessory, then had an idea. Cloud took off one of his Fenrir earrings and gave it to Sephiroth. “Here. A reminder.”

Sephiroth cradled the little piece of stainless steel like it was the most precious thing in the world. He grinned at Cloud. “Thanks, Cloud! I'll never forget this dream or you!”

The world brightened and Cloud was floating once again in the lifestream. It was quiet again. He wondered where his friends went. Cloud drifted away, like his namesake.

* * *

Sephiroth woke up surrounded by four familiar cold walls and the acrid stench of cleaning chemicals and mako in the Shinra Research Lab. His room was large, but rather Spartan, with no other living thing in it besides himself. All that he possessed were basic necessities. A bed, a desk with some textbooks, clothing in a wardrobe, a computer to access basic information, a few practice swords, and a few materia he practiced with. He didn't even have art. He had a toy once, a chocobo plush from Gast, but Hojo found it and took it away. Called it, “An illogical and useless object that serves no purpose.”

Sephiroth glanced wearily at the clock on the wall, the only thing that hung there besides a basic wall calendar with Shinra's logo. It was chemistry and biology class with Hojo today. The worst day of the week in his opinion. After the wonderful dream he had he found himself reluctant to get out of bed.

And why would he? He could go back to sleep and enter a world where he could be somewhere with flowers and trees. A world where he had home in a far off place, where Hojo wasn't his father and he had a friend. It was a wonderful dream that he wish he never left, but it wasn't real and he had to face reality. Hojo was his father, the Shinra company is his family and he has no home but this cold, unloving lab.

Sephiroth began to get out of bed to put on his cadet uniform when something sharp dug into his thigh. When he picked up the small object, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. It was the wolf earring that Cloud gave him. Sephiroth's first and strongest impulse was to hide it. A thousand questions raced in his mind. The singular and most wondrous of all being, “How?”

This small piece of metal was proof that his dream may not have been quite that at all. Was it an hallucination from the previous night's tests? Perhaps a lab assistant came into his room while he was recovering and dropped this? Perhaps it was just random information from his subconscious? Sephiroth for once found himself eager to see Hojo, if only to test a theory. If it was a just a dream, then Hojo would know the name of this Lucrecia Crescent, his maybe-mother.

With his plan outlined, he was going to test his theory. If it was all made up, then Hojo would simply react with mild puzzlement and look over the drugs he used in last night's tests for hallucinogenic properties. If it was all true...

If. It was such a small word but with so many possibilities. If his dream was real, if Cloud was a vision of truth and friendship... Then how would Hojo react to Sephiroth knowing the name of his ex-wife? A woman he had lied to Sephiroth about her existence.

A knock on the door and Hojo himself came in. “Sephiroth, it is time for breakfast. How are you feeling this morning? Any side effects from last night's trials?”

Sephiroth put his hands behind his back, the earring hidden in his palm. “I am well. The only side effects that I can report is a deep sleep afterword, and maybe vivid dreams but nothing more.”

Hojo took out his clipboard and jotted down notes. “Hmmm, vivid dreams and a deep sleep. Perhaps we can check to see this anesthetic effects the REM cycle long term or short term.”

Sephiroth paused before he asked, “By the way, I have a question of my own.”

Hojo didn't look up at his 'son'. Too engrossed in his research. “Hmm? What is it, boy?”

“Who is Lucretia Crescent?”

Hojo broke his pencil. The snap of graphite was deafening as the pieces clattered to the floor like thunder. His pulse quickened and Sephiroth could smell a hint of fear and sweat on the other man. Hojo actually looked up at Sephiroth with a dangerous look in his eyes. No. It was panic that he saw in Hojo's eyes. “Where did you hear that name, boy?”

“That is not an answer.”

Hojo gritted his teeth. “That woman is no one of any consequence. Today's biology lesson is cancelled. You will report to Commander... Whatever his name is, for more training. President Shinra wants you on the frontlines next month. I will not have Hollander and his brats outshine me.”

Hojo slammed the door behind him. The sound rang in his ears but as he pressed his ears against the door, he could hear Hojo muttering, “Which of those worthless assistants of mine told him about that woman?! I'll not have those cretins corrupting my greatest work! Maybe she didn't go away as quietly as I hoped... I thought I took care of her like I did Valentine.”

Sephiroth's heart pounded in his chest. Cloud was right. Cloud wasn't a dream. And he knew about his mother. His real mother! And maybe his real father, too! He had a friend and a real family out there somewhere. Nibelheim. That was the place he was born. His hometown, and Cloud's too.

Sephiroth went to his computer and logged onto the net. He used a card he “borrowed” from Hojo once and used it to access things he wasn't supposed to see, like his favorite cartoons. Hojo didn't want him watching shows he deemed 'un-educational'. This time Sephiroth used it for something really serious, like looking up other employees in Shinra.

There was no one in Shinra named Cloud Strife, but there was one result for a Lucretia Crescent. A former scientist in the research department and... Hojo's former wife. The divorce papers were all there, but then she just disappeared. Reported missing. Her picture haunted him. She looked so kind, like a mother would. They shared the same bangs, the same cheeks, the same smile, he kept comparing his features to her, and felt a connection to the woman in the picture. Cloud was right, this woman was his mother, and her name was Lucretia, not Jenova.

Valentine. That was another name Hojo mentioned. When Sephiroth typed in the search he found a Grimoire Valentine, died in a lab accident... With his mother being the sole survivor. The other result under Valentine was a Vincent Valentine. This one was an obituary in the archives in the same year that Sephiroth was born. It was brief paragraph of a Vincent Valentine 'who died in the line of duty' and worked in the Investigation Sector of Internal Affairs. That meant he was a Turk. The picture however had Sephiroth looking into his bathroom mirror and comparing his features with this Vincent Valentine with a relentless curiosity that he could not stamp out. Features he saw in himself but not in Lucretia.

In Sephiroth's heart, he clung onto the hope that this mysterious Turk was his real father. That Hojo wasn't his father, but a monster that stole him from his real parents and that they were still out there looking for him. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up, but the little pieces of evidence were too tantalizing to ignore. All he had to go one was some resemblance in facial features and that Vincent Valentine had been an Alpha like him. Hojo was classed as a Beta so it made Valentine the more logical choice.

Sephiroth had been so engrossed in his research that he had been late for class and got detention. The rest of the cadets snorted and laughed at him for his tardiness. Even the ensuing lecture he got from his instructor about being on time could not kill his mood. For he had a secret. It was a secret that gave him limitless strength to draw from, and it was in his pocket.

When Sephiroth looked at a map, pretending to do his homework on Wutai's geography, he found Nibelheim. Instructor Kodos glanced at his work. “Cadet Sephiroth. That doesn't look like Wutai.”

The cadets snickered and singsonged, “Ooh! Someone's in trooouble!”

A glance from the Instructor silenced them. “Well, Cadet Sephiroth?”

Sephiroth jumped as his mind quickly spun the first viable excuse that popped up. “I was seeing which towns were on the way to Wutai, sir.”

“Hmm, Nibelheim isn't a very strategic location. Sure the mountains would make a well defended fortress, and the presence of a reactor would be convenient for us... Hmmm you may be onto something, but only if Wutai pushes us out so far that we need to build a fortress that far from Wutai, and if the war gets that bad for us then we've already lost.”

“I was thinking of more in the way of a supply line, sir.”

Instructor Kodos brushed it off. “We ship supplies over the ocean from our bases near Junon or Fort Condor. It's simply easier than over such a long land route and much faster with our new mako-liners. But I will give you credit for good thinking in case the sea turns against us. One merit point for Cadet Sephiroth.”

Sephiroth bit his tongue, and wanted to argue that land routes were safer, but he kept quiet. “Thank you, sir.”

The instructor droned on about. “...and remember that we must always keep our supply lines short! Without supplies, our armies...”

Sephiroth zoned out, and stared at his computer screen with Nibelheim glaring back him. He turned it off and went back to his class. He would look into this place later. If he made one mistake, then Hojo would punish him. He would get a lecture already for being late, he didn't need demerit points to put him in Hojo's brutal training sims.

After class when he could be alone in his room, Sephiroth went back to studying Nibelheim. The place was just as Cloud described, the only thing of interest was a reactor and nothing else. Sephiroth stared at the steel earring. The wolf was a stark reminder that he was not alone. He was part of a pack. He whispered, “I'll find you Cloud. Don't worry.”

* * *

Cloud didn't know how long he had been drifting in the lifestream, time had no meaning here. He once again found himself in Ifalna's garden. It had to be Ilfana's because it was too much like Aerith's. Like mother, like daughter. Aerith's garden in the Sector Five slums was so much like this one. Aerith's slice of green life was so juxtaposed against the concrete and steel garbage that people from the topside of the rotted pizza had thrown away. That's what had made Aerith's garden all the more special.

“Cloud! You're here again! I missed you so much!”

Cloud turned around and saw Sephiroth. So young and excitable. It made him forget what he would become. Or perhaps _could_... 'What if' was such a tempting thing. “Hey, Sephiroth.”

Sephiroth hugged him, Cloud almost flinched. “Cloud, I'm being shipped off to Wutai next month, to fight in the war.” Sephiroth hesitated. “I'm not sure I'm ready.”

Cloud ruffled his hair, just like he would do with all the other kids. “You'll be fine.”

“I don't know... Hojo said there were two other boys like me, and that I'm supposed to form a team with. He said they were Hollander's kids, and that's all I know about them.”

Angeal and Genesis. Those names popped up into Cloud's memory. The three generals of Shinra that became their poster boys to convince other boys to throw away their childhood to become soldiers. “They can be your friends if you let them. A wolf travels in a pack, remember?”

Sephiroth looked unsure. Nervous even at the prospect of socializing. “Yeah...”

Cloud felt the same. “I was no good at making friends either, but some make friends with you. Those are the unforgettable ones.”

Sephiroth smiled up at him. “Yeah! Like you! My first friend! My pack!”

Cloud wondered how strong Sephiroth was at this point. “Hey, wanna spar?”

Sephiroth looked up at the enormous sword on Cloud's back, both reluctant and excited. “I wouldn't mind... I mean, I've sparred against Shinra's Elite Troopers, and I'm now better than them. Which is good, since I'm supposed to be their SOLDIER prototype. How good are you?”

Cloud smirk and unhooked the Fusion Sword. “SOLDIER, First-Class. What you're aiming to be. Think you can win?”

Sephiroth was eager for the challenge presented in front of him. A standard Shinra broadsword appeared beside Sephiroth. It looked wrong to Sephiroth wield anything besides Masamune. His stance was good, but different from what he was used to. “I'm ready Cloud.”

Cloud went into his stance, and nodded. “Ready.”

Sephiroth was fast, but no where near Cloud's level. His technique was good, but it needed work. The battle was short. It was not the epic drawn out battles for the fate of the planet they had. It ended with Cloud disarming Sephiroth, with his crappy sword pointed at his throat. “You need a better weapon. You've got a lot of strength but it isn't being utilized. Try something with a longer reach.”

Sephiroth was blushing. It wasn't often that he lost, but it took it better than he thought. “You're really good.”

Cloud shrugged. “Lots of practice.”

“Your eyes glow. Like those in the SOLDIER program. I thought I was the only one, besides Hollander's candidates.”

“I was never in SOLDIER.” Cloud said truthfully. “I got enhancements against my will, but that's a story I'd rather not relive.”

Sephiroth nodded, knowing when not to press a big red button when he saw it. “Well, if you wanna vent... I'm here.”

Cloud smiled weakly. “Thanks. All I can tell you was Hojo thought me a good subject at first.” He shuddered. “I was one of so many... I didn't even get a number, I was that insignificant.”

Sephiroth put a hand on Cloud's shoulder. “I'm sorry... Hojo really is a monster, isn't he?”

Cloud swallowed the horrible memory. “Yeah. He really is.”

Sephiroth sat in silence next to Cloud, simply enjoying the scenery of flowers and the peace between them. They stayed like that until Sephiroth woke up.

* * *

The next few times, Cloud and Sephiroth fell into a routine, after one slight change. When Sephiroth asked for another spar, Cloud pointed at the Shinra Broadsword and said, “Sephiroth. Take that Crap-Sword and toss it.”

Sephiroth raised a brow, and did as he was asked. The Shinra Shit-sword flew far into the edge of the dream world. “Now what am I supposed to fight with?”

Cloud decided to take one of the swords that formed his blade. “I suppose use one of these. I wish Masamune were here though. That'd be the perfect sword for you.”

A flash of green magic caught Sephiroth's eye. It was like kismet. It was a Wutaian katana, but with a far longer blade. “Does it look like that?”

Cloud glanced at where Sephiroth was looking and his eyes widened. Memories of what that sword could do crashed over him. His knees nearly buckled. “Yeah. That's it... Just like I remember.”

Sephiroth took a hold of the sword. Seeing him handle it all wrong gave Cloud an overwhelming sense of relief. “You're holding it all wrong.”

Cloud corrected Sephiroth's grip and stance. In the ensuing sparring session, Cloud had to fight the urge to go all out. Seeing Sephiroth so young, so different, had brought him back. “You've improved. Just remember to fight with honor and to protect that which you cherish. Got it?”

Sephiroth nodded. “I got it.”

“I'm serious. No murdering innocent people.”

“What if they're trying to kill me?”

“If they're armed than they're not defenseless. In war you'll have to make hard choices, like to choose between your life, and another's. Always ask yourself, what am I fighting for?”

Sephiroth swallowed. “Okay, I will.”

The boy paused. “What am I fighting for?”

Cloud shook his head. “I cannot answer that for you.”

The question bugged Sephiroth. Even after he woke up. His hand bore marks of Masamune held fast in his grip. What did he fight for? Shinra. That was the obvious answer, but why?

In his classes, he raised his hand, interrupting Instructor Kodos and his lecture on the various styles of fight Wutai had. “Yes, Cadet Sephiroth?”

“I know we are fighting Wutai, but why?”

The cadets all turned and stared at Sephiroth. It was then that Sephiroth learned that he had asked something taboo. Instructor Kodos marched, slowly, and quietly toward the young cadet. Sephiroth caught a whiff of the other man's pheromones. He had challenged the other Alpha and he was responding in kind. “Cadet Sephiroth. The question of 'why' is left not to us, but to our superiors, to diplomats, and philosophers. Our job is only to fight and defend, but I will answer you anyway. Wutai attacked us while we trying to improve their lives. They killed innocent people, and they destroyed reactors.”

Sephiroth bit his lip, it didn't sound right. Something was off. Instead he asked, “So they fight without honor?”

This seemed to pacify his instructor and he nodded with approval. “Yes. They stab you in the back. They slit your throats in your sleep. Don't ever underestimate them.”

Sephiroth was quiet the rest of the day. He turned in early, ignoring the homework he had to see Cloud again. He had to. There were too many questions. Everything about Shinra seemed off.

The peaceful sight of Gast and Ilfana's garden greeted him. As did Cloud. “Cloud!”

Cloud turned around, surprised to see him. “Back already? It's only been five minutes, hasn't it?”

Sephiroth laughed. “It's been sixteen hours, Cloud.”

“That long?!” Cloud scratched the back of his head. “Wow, time passes differently here.”

Sephiroth cleared his throat, needing ask Cloud about Shinra. “I've got something important to ask you.”

Cloud cocked his head, staring at Sephiroth. “Shoot.”

“Shinra? Are they good guys? I mean, they told me Wutai was dishonorable...”

Cloud sighed. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Shinra is evil. The Mako reactors literally draw life from the planet. Look outside of Midgar's walls. It was green pastures full of wildlife. It's barren. Convenience at the price of our children's future.”

Sephiroth was horrified. “Don't people know about this?!”

Cloud knew better now. Avalanche tried to tell people about the evils of Mako energy but they were largely ignored. “They do, but I think they ignore it. I mean, it's common knowledge that Mako is from the lifestream and that's were we all go when we die. People know, but they don't want to admit that they're doing something bad.”

“People suck.” Sephiroth mutter.

Cloud shared that sentiment, however, “Not all of them. I think if faced with better alternatives than they'll choose to do better. People largely just want to live.”

Sephiroth raised a brow. “What alternatives?”

“Exactly.”

Sephiroth shook his head. “I have to run away, join Wutai. Fight against Shinra.”

Cloud thought about that. “It'll be tough. Wutai will lose eventually. They don't control the rest of the Planet like Shinra. Even if you deserted, Shinra has a larger army, better technology and more weapons.”

“Then what do I do?! I don't want to fight for someone evil like Shinra!”

Cloud wondered the same thing for years. He was just one guy out of a small group of rag tag misfits just trying to survive what was thrown at him. “Well, you can do what some in Shinra's doing, fight them from the inside. Besides, right now Hojo has Jenova and that thing's a bigger threat to the planet than Shinra. It's Jenova's cells that enhance the SOLDIERs, not just the mako.”

Cloud could see the gears turning in Sephiroth's head. “So if I get rid of Hojo and destroy Jenova then the world can be safer?”

“It'll be hard to do alone. Hojo's not easy to get rid of. He's a greasy weasel of a man.”

Sephiroth smirked as he remembered Hojo's reaction to the name of his real mother. He was practically bouncing up and down. “I forgot to tell you! Listen to this, I asked Hojo the other day who Lucretia was and he _freaked_! He punished a bunch of lab assistants because he thinks they blabbed!”

Cloud smirked as he imagined the look on that bastard's face when his prized experiment started asking inconvenient questions. “Did he now?”

“Yeah! I eavesdropped on that greasy weasel and he kept muttering about how he thought he 'took care of that woman and Valentine'. I used his password to look them up!” Sephiroth halted, and blushed. “I uh... Usually use it just to watch cartoons like Stamp, not snoop like this, but... They're real! My reall mother and father! And they both worked for Hojo!”

Sephiroth excitement died. “...but then they disappeared. They're dead, aren't they?”

Cloud felt pity for Sephiroth. Cloud never knew who his own father was and could only imagine living a life where Hojo was your own father. Any parent, even dead ones where better than that monster. “Well, not really no. I mean, they're alive...”

Sephiroth became confused. “Then why? Why didn't they come for me?”

Cloud found a patch of soft grass next to familiar lilies and sat down. Wordlessly he invited Sephiroth to sit beside him. “I guess in a way, they're trapped.”

Sephiroth sat down next to him, instinctively curling up against Cloud for the comfort he freely offered. “Trapped?”

“Yeah. Your mother couldn't die after the experiments Hojo put her through when she was pregnant with you. She tried. Hojo wouldn't let her see you once. Just took you away the moment she birthed you. She imprisoned herself in mako, unable to join the lifestream. Jenova's cells keep her alive, while eating away at its host's sanity. Some can resist the effects but they have to fight against it, like I did.”

Cloud could see a seed of anger planted in Sephiroth. He knew what kind of flower that could grow into. He saw it wreak havoc on the world once. “You want revenge, don't you?”

“Of course I do! I'll kill Hojo for taking my mother from me! And my father! He killed my father, didn't he?”

Cloud shrugged. “Vincent's not dead either. Hojo double crossed him, and after he shot him, he conducted experiments on him. Vincent's no longer human, but still not a monster. Not like Hojo. The experiments would have killed him if your mother hadn't revived him, but thanks to what she did, he can't die either. He was left unable to move, and unable to die. Trapped inside his own nightmares.”

Sephiroth trembled and hugged his knees. The truth of his origins was never an easy one to tell. Cloud hoped that hearing it from someone he called a friend would be an easier blow to take then discovering it in a grungy basement. “Hey... Sephiroth.”

Sephiroth looked up, his eyes stinging with tears. “I don't know what to do. All I know is that I want to kill Hojo and everyone who took away my family.”

Cloud hugged the child, and a child he still was. “Don't lose yourself in seeking revenge. You're a wolf. That means you're part of a pack and your pack comes first.”

Sephiroth clutched his shirt. “Am I a monster? I have Jenova's cells in me...”

“No.” Cloud said firmly. “You're only a monster if choose to be one. You could have wings, fangs, or even tentacles but if you choose to be honorable, to not kill or torture defenseless people, then you're not a monster. If you have honor, then you're not a monster, remember that.”

Sephiroth smiled. “Thanks, Cloud. I'll remember that.”

The smile died as quickly as it came. “But I'll have to fight soon. Against actual people, for people who are slowing killing the planet. I can't desert or I'll be hunted like a rabid dog.”

Cloud wasn't sure what to tell him. A memory of Zack, of all his friends, and the bittersweet memories of Aerith bubbled up to the surface. “Sometimes you have to fight, whether it's to protect your loves ones or your dreams. And maybe you can fight Shinra from the inside, change them for the better. You can even choose to who Shinra will go after in the war, prevent them from killing defenseless villagers. Maybe even convince Shinra to find fuel alternatives."

A memory of the man Sephiroth will become floated to the surface of his mind. "Tell me, do you have anything you cherish?”

A light blush dusted his cheeks. “Well, just you... I don't really have any dreams or ambitions really. Maybe be a hero? Maybe I can help the planet?”

Sephiroth was so young, and so lost and Cloud saw none of the monster he became. When Cloud was young, Sephiroth was his hero. He was the reason he had joined Shinra. Perhaps this was a dream in the lifestream to fulfill that wish of his? The flowers around them seemed to sway, as if in agreement. Cloud smiled at the almost presence of Aerith, encouraging him. Of course she would want to redeem even a lost case like Sephiroth. “I didn't have much either in the beginning, but that's okay. I borrowed from my friends until I got my own dreams. I traveled the world, helping people, discovering new places, and simply enjoying the freedom to just go anywhere.”

Sephiroth looked out onto the new sight that bloomed. It was one of Cloud's memories; Aerith's garden. The one that Elmyra still lovingly tended years after her daughter's sacrifice. It became a popular pilgrimage long after Meteor. “This, I think, was one of my most favorite places in the world.”

Sephiroth nodded, his jaw still hung wide open. “I can see why. It's beautiful.”

“I come here sometimes, when I'm not dreaming, but awake. It's the most beautiful place in Midgar. My friend, she...” He hesitated. “She made all of this in the slums beneath the plate. I found lots of beautiful spots like this in unexpected places. I guess that's how life can be. The most wonderful things can be in the places you usually don't look.”

“Wow! I've never seen a place like this in Midgar!”

Cloud smiled, seeing the earnest joy in the boy's face. “I hope you remember that there's good in this world. As long as you remember that, then revenge won't take you too.”

Sephiroth hugged Cloud. Glad to have his friend. “Thanks Cloud. You're my best friend.”

Cloud paused, as if thinking something over, and then he took out something from his huge sword and handed him a blue materia. It was as blue as his eyes. “Here. This is an All materia. Fully mastered. By themselves, they don't do much...”

Sephiroth smiled at the not-so-subtle lesson Cloud was teaching him. “But paired with a partner, it can make the other stronger. Yeah, like a lone wolf versus a pack of wolves.”

Sephiroth eyed the gifted blue support materia with a discerning eye. “I've never seen this kind of materia. I've read about them though... These are quite rare and expensive on the market, especially a mastered one like this one. You really giving this to me?”

Cloud shrugged. “I've got others like them. You plan on being a hero, right? Well, that All materia will come in handy when your pack goes up against a stronger foe and gets hurt.”

“Or I can link it with a lightning materia and hit multiple enemies at once.”

Cloud nodded. “You can cause great harm or great good with that materia. Just like you. You've got the capability for great good or great evil. The choice is always yours.”

The world was dissolving. That meant Sephiroth was starting to wake up. He saw Cloud look at him with those sad, beautiful blue eyes. “I just hope you choose good this time, Sephiroth.”

* * *


	2. Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud wakes up seeing that he's travelled back in time! But something is off...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last day of Sefikura week! I did warn y'all that updates will be sporadic, but I've got the next chapter hot off the presses just for you guys, I hope you'll stick around nonetheless. Thanks for all the kudos!

Chapter Two

Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed

Sephiroth woke up in his quarters with the vision of Cloud's sad sky-blue eyes still burned into him. He had some feeling in him. One of determination. He wanted to be a hero. He didn't know how. Or where to start. A thought occurred to him. Jenova. The creature that Hojo kept somewhere. Cloud said that Jenova was the greatest threat to the planet, and some of its cells were in him.

Sephiroth had free time at the moment. Maybe he could sneak around Hojo's laboratory? Somehow destroy it? He had to make it look like an accident somehow. If he was lucky then Hojo would get caught up in the explosion and that would be one less threat to the world. Cloud would be so proud of him.

Sephiroth put on his cadet uniform, and armed himself with his Shinra broadsword and slotted it with a lightning materia. After a little consideration he put in the All materia Cloud gave him, and left his quarters to search for the monster called Jenova. His guess was that she was down in the lower levels that he wasn't allowed to go. So he snuck into an elevator carrying supplies down. The lab technician was so overworked that he didn't even notice Sephiroth.

He wandered around the laboratory, noting the surgery tables, mako tanks and cages filled with various lab specimens like wererats and Shinra dogs. It was a sobering thought that he wasn't much different than these poor creatures. He was just another lab specimen to the scientists here. However, he found nothing hinting at Jenova's presence. The hairs on the back of Sephiroth's neck rose when he felt Hojo's presence behind him. “Sephiroth? My boy, what are you doing down here?”

Sephiroth felt Hojo's fingers digging into his shoulder and suppressed the urge not to slice the whole hand off. “I was looking at your projects, Professor Hojo. I am simply curious what you do down here.”

Sephiroth saw a greasy smile that made his skin crawl. “Oh ho! You've finally sparked an interest in science?”

“Yes, sir.” He lied. “Are those wererats enhanced with just mako or did you use a different compound?”

Hojo was easily flattered. To Sephiroth it was disgusting how Hojo went on about the different methods he tried on the creatures to see how they would react to what. Sephiroth even saw one poor creature had limbs surgically removed and combined with machinery. To Hojo it was all a fascinating experiment to him. It worked in Sephiroth's favor that Hojo was giving him the grand tour. “And down this elevator we go! This is where my real work is done. Want to see?”

Sephiroth whipped his head around. He didn't even need to feign interest. “Yes! Very much, sir!”

Hojo patted Sephiroth on the back in an almost fatherly gesture. “I must admit, I was quite worried you'd never see the beauty of science as I do.”

Sephiroth felt something like an ice cold hand reaching into his brain. It was coming from the level they were on. While poking around the labs upstair he had heard mentions of J-cells. From what Cloud had told him, that had to be Jenova. Which meant the creature was stored nearby. It wouldn't make sense that they would store it anywhere but their most secure labs here in Midgar.

Hojo's PHS rang, and when he looked at it, he snarled. Sephiroth knew he was close. If he could find this Jenova creature, he could destroy it and make Cloud proud. Hojo pressed the elevator button to go up. “Sorry my boy, but we'll have to cut this grand tour short.”

“But why?”

Thankfully Hojo took Sephiroth disappointment the wrong way. “As marvelous as it is to see your budding interest in my work... President Shinra has summoned us.”

Sephiroth wanted to skewer President Shinra for ruining his plans to save the world. “What could he possibly want?”

“I share your sentiment, my dear boy, but Hollander is here with his brats and the president wants to see his new weapons in action. All three of them. That includes you.”

Sephiroth raised a brow. “There are two others, like me?”

Hojo turned his nose up. “Hmph! Those two are not like you! You are better than them, don't forget that! We are meeting them in the battle simulator and you will _not_ disappoint me. Do you understand?”

Sephiroth nodded. He would play along... for now. If Hojo said these two other boys were inferior to him, then by Cloud's logic that meant they were his equals. That meant potential friends. Sephiroth tried to hide his glee in finding new friends. When Hojo asked why he was anxious he simply replied, “I am simply eager for new opponents to defeat, Professor.”

Hojo seemed mollified. The longer Sephiroth could keep Hojo's guard down long enough to find this Jenova creature, the better. Cloud had said that Shinra was evil and if Sephiroth could destroy them from the inside... Sephiroth would need help. He clutched his sword in one hand that had Cloud's All materia and in his other held it against his pocket where Cloud's wolf earring was.

Outside the battle simulator were other men and women in lab coats, some he did not recognize, and he saw President Shinra with the other heads of the departments. Sephiroth looked up at Hojo and back down at his sword. “If I am to be on the front lines, I will need a better sword than this.”

Hojo looked at the standard sword and frowned. “Hmmm, yes. You are correct. You had mentioned in your reports that you requested a katana, yes?”

Sephiroth nodded. “Yes. A long katana, specifically an nodachi.”

Hojo smirked. “Yes, I figured you'd want only the best. Scarlet! Do have what I asked for?!”

The head of Weapons Development, Scarlet, snapped her fingers and two Shinra infantrymen came in with a long crate. Sephiroth's heart raced. In his dream, Cloud showed him the Masamune, the best sword in the world. The sword that he was destined for. The crate popped open and a gleaming katana was displayed for him. It wasn't the Masamune. Scarlet picked up the blade and presented it to Sephiroth, bending over slighting to show off her breasts. Sephiroth wrinkled his nose at her over-sweet Omega pheromones she was putting out. “Sephiroth darling! We decided to spare no expense on our best and the best you shall have! Behold! The Muramasa! Our troops in Wutai had found this beauty in their fortress.”

“I was going to hang it in summer home...” President Shinra started. “..but it'd be a shame to let it collect dust there when I can give it to one of my own brand new SOLDIERs to humiliate Wutai with. Nothing less than what I expect from a pure Alpha warrior like yourself, hmm?”

Hojo preened. “Sephiroth here is more than just some mere soldier with two copies of the Alpha gene, but also possesses a third Omega gene. All the brute strength and raw power of a pure Alpha, but with none of the hormone driven stupidity they are all too often driven too.”

All eyes drifted toward Heidegger, who to prove Hojo's point, growled and doused the room with his pheromones. “Are you insulting me, you pencil-necked little Beta?”

Hojo rolled his eyes. “My Sephiroth is a mentally stable normal Alpha like yourself President, but obviously far stronger than any other. Not to mentioned enhanced far beyond the norm.”

President Shinra silenced Heidegger with a mere glance. Another man in a lab coat crossed his arms, interjecting, “Genesis and Angeal are same, if not better than Hojo's little pet project, President! We have yet to see whether my work or Hojo's is the better for the new SOLDIER Program.”

President Shinra looked between the two scientists as if he were shopping for a new pair of pants. “Very true, Professor Hollander... But why should I take one when I can have all three? Show me what these young Alphas are capable of. Then I will decide which of you will be my new head of Research and Development, and which of these three shall be called Shinra's First Soldier.”

Hojo all but pushed Sephiroth. “Make me proud, boy... Or else.”

Sephiroth picked up the katana, the Muramasa, testing its edge and balance. It did not sing to him like the Masamune did in his dream with Cloud. “This sword will do, I suppose.”

Scarlet blushed and stepped into Sephiroth's personal space. She had no shame. “Show a little more excitement, my hot-blooded young Alpha! This is the best sword in the world! And it's all for you!”

Sephiroth shrugged, brushing off her touch with ease. “Second best. It is not the Masamune. Now who will I be sparring against today?”

Scarlet looked cowed at Sephiroth. She was an Omega woman that clawed her way to her position by letting the right Alphas knot her. Sephiroth had no interest in her. This seemed to please Hojo. “See? Sephiroth does not fall easily for a whiff of an Omega's scent as a normal Pure Alpha would.”

President Shinra smirked. “So far so good. Genesis and Angeal reacted the same way, so the coin's still up in the air, Professor. Begin the simulation!”

Sephiroth slotted his new blade with his lightning materia and his new All materia from Cloud. When he was inside he saw two other boys in there. One had red hair and was armed with a rapier and the other was dark haired and carried a large sword. The latter reminded him of Cloud with the large blade on his back. It was him who spoke first. “Hey, you must be Sephiroth. I'm Angeal Hewley. And this sourpuss right here is Genesis Rhapsados.”

Genesis was clearly sizing him up. “Do you know Loveless?”

Sephiroth raised a brow. “The poem written by the Ancients?”

Genesis looked positively delighted, Angeal sighed wearily. “Here we go again...”

Genesis grinned. “It's not just any poem, but the height of culture and literature! Their greatest work that gifted us the best...”

Sephiroth tuned him out after that. Finally he shook his head. “Stop. I've never seen the play or the movie adaptation. I've read the poem. I find it mildly interesting, but that is all. Maybe if the last act was found it'd have a ending to tie together the other acts and make sense, but until then, it's an incomplete work.”

Angeal held his breath and Genesis became as red as the hair on his head. Sephiroth's nose caught the rise of Genesis's pheromones in response, a futile attempt to cow Sephiroth. Angeal muttered, “Oh boy.”

“'The gift of the goddess' is the entire point of Loveless, you uncultured swine! Draw your blade! I will kill you here and now!”

Angeal stepped between them. “Hey, we're supposed to be a team, remember? No knocking heads.” He whispered quietly, “Gen, control yourself.”

Sephiroth was beginning to like Angeal more than Genesis. “A team... Like a pack of wolves?”

Genesis smirked. “'My friend the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains...' But remind me again, isn't a pack lead by a single Alpha as the leader?”

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. “We aren't the three men in the poem. I think we are perfectly capable of getting along if we can keep our heads screwed on and not stab each other in the back.”

Angeal beamed brightly and slapped Sephiroth on the back. “I think I'm going to like you, Sephiroth! I'm ready to see what you're made of, if you don't mind.”

Genesis shouted at the ceiling. “Begin the test!”

The walls flickered to a mock up of a forest with a thick fog surrounding them. President Shinra's voice flickered over the comm, “Now boys, the first test. How you work together as a team. The team leader will be chosen by myself depending on your performance, not based on who can't beat who. This will not be some bar room brawl over some pretty face.”

Angeal looked to Genesis with a smug look whispering, “I told you we wouldn't be fighting each other.”

Genesis blushed hotly. Sephiroth had thought the same Genesis had apparently. “Disappointing, but understandable.”

Genesis opened his mouth to say something but whatever it was had to wait. Their enemy appeared. A small robed figure with a small kitchen knife emerged from the simulated mist and even Sephiroth was wary of their new foe. It was a monster the simulator only made at the highest difficulty setting. Genesis re-slotted his materia quickly and cursed. “Shit! It's a Tonberry! Don't let it's knife touch you!”

Angeal readied with his large sword. “Any recommendations, Gen?”

“Yeah, cast poison and try to outlast it.”

Sephiroth went in and took charge. “Then I assume you have the right materia? Angeal and I can focus on cutting it down while you cast from the back. It's slow, but tough. A haste would help us.”

The battle was quicker than Sephiroth had anticipated. Despite a rocky start with Genesis they worked well together and took down the Tonberry in record time. President Shinra had been impressed with their performance. At least so far. When they exited the battle simulator, slightly sweaty and victorious, they were met with applause from their audience.

“Well done, boys!” President Shinra shouted. “I think Wutai's going to be sweating now with our very first SOLDIERs. You three go off and have fun for the rest of the day. Get know each other. When you come back, your new SOLDIER uniforms will be waiting in your quarters.”

Professor Hojo interjected. “President, I think Sephiroth needs more training. He cannot afford to be slacking off.”

President Shinra laughed and slapped Hojo on the back. “Stop being such a killjoy! They're young hot-blooded Alphas. Let them strut around town for a bit, enjoy the riches some real civilization has to offer before we throw them in the jungles.”

Hollander smiled, but his eyes showed a hostile venom reserved for Hojo. “I let my boys socialize and mingle. Makes them more _emotionally stable_.”

Hojo growled under his breath and walked off shouting back, “Fine! I'll be in my lab doing actual work!”

Sephiroth didn't need to be told twice. A day free to roam town without Hojo breathing down his neck was a rare opportunity he wouldn't turn down. It was only when he was outside of the doors of Shinra's headquarters with Genesis and Angeal that he asked, “Now what?”

Genesis pointed at a billboard with Loveless plastered on it. “We have more than enough gil for three tickets.”

Angeal groaned, “Not again, Gen.”

Sephiroth shrugged. “I have never seen it, so I'll consider it.”

Genesis beamed with pride. “So you're not the cretin I thought you were! I think we can get along splendidly.”

Sephiroth ignored Genesis and pulled out his wallet. When he did, Cloud's wolf earring was attached to it and it fell to the ground. Sephiroth caught it on the first bounce. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad he hadn't lost something so precious. Angeal and Genesis stared. Genesis commented. “Nice piece. Is that a wolf?”

Sephiroth nodded. “Yes it is... It's a gift from my best friend.”

Angeal admired the earring. “It looks really cool, your friend has good taste. Why not wear it?”

Sephiroth pointed to his ears. “I don't have them pierced.”

Genesis and Angeal shared a grin and looked back at Sephiroth.

“It's decided.” Angeal declared. “We're going to a tattoo parlor and getting some piercings done.”

“And then see Loveless.” Genesis added.

“I'd rather get a Prince Albert then sit through that again.” Angeal stated flat out.

“What's a Prince Albert?” Sephiroth asked.

“You don't wanna know.” Was the reply from both of them.

Sephiroth decided he would do research on what a Prince Albert was later, and let his two friends drag him to a tattoo parlor to get his ears pierced. He flinched and covered his crotch when the tattoo artist told him what a Prince Albert was. Angeal and Genesis laughed at Sephiroth for asking. Then guy even showed all three boys a chart of all the places crazy men got piercings on their genitals. Angeal and Genesis stopped laughing and cowered with Sephiroth. They walked out with normal piercings in their ears, laughing the whole thing off. Somewhere along the way Sephiroth realized that he thought of Angeal and Genesis as his friends.

* * *

Cloud was drifting again among the green lights of the lifestream listening to the hum of its voice. If he strained his ears, he could make out some of the words. _Reflections in the mirror, warped yet clear. OMEGA WEAPON. Repurposed. Reshaped. A surgeon to cut away diseased flesh. The rain that douses the hungry fire. OMEGA WEAPON. Precise. Gentle. Dauntless._ That's what it seemed to tell him. He wondered what it meant. Was this Gaea's voice?

As if in answer to Cloud's question, he saw the lifestream brighten around him and felt it embrace him. It stunned him. He thought only the Cetra talked to the lifestream. He heard laughter, like Aerith's. _“Cloud, you silly goose.”_

Cloud turned all around and could not find her. He heard the discordant chorus of voices all around him, the voice of the planet. _OMEGA WEAPON. Repurposed. Reshaped. Precise. Gentle. Dauntless. Prune the diseased branches to save the tree. Cutting the strings that the Calamity binds with._ Cloud understood why Aerith had trouble interpreting what the planet “told” her at times. It spoke in metaphors and riddles. From what little Cloud understood, the planet wanted him to save it from Jenova without destroying a good part of life on the planet in the process.

Cloud didn't need to be told that. He already knew that Jenova had to be purged from the planet completely. He had killed Sephiroth more than once and never did it work. _Cutting the strings that bind._ Maybe that's what he's doing in Sephiroth's dreams? To get rid of Jenova's influence on him, cleanse him of it instead of trying to destroy both him and Jenova. Cloud must have guessed right from the way the lifestream glowed brightly, almost happy for him.

Cloud smiled. That he'd gladly do. Saving Sephiroth from turning evil was a wish he wanted but never thought long on because of the impossibility of it. However, Sephiroth was a kid now, young and impressionable. He needed a friend. Something Cloud didn't have at first either, but Cloud made friends all along the way. Aerith. Tifa. Barret. Red XIII. Cid. Reeve. Yuffie. Vincent. He wanted to make all their lives better.

Cloud caught of flash of silver, and he heard Sephiroth's voice calling out to him. He was asleep now. Cloud swam swift as Leviathan through the lifestream, toward Sephiroth. He was being called and he would not ignore it. Far away, he felt a pulse of red. Something familiar in the distance. The Lifestream whispered, _Your Harbinger_. Cloud ignored it and headed to Sephiroth.

* * *

Cloud grinned as he and Sephiroth sparred. He was strong, but Cloud was still more experienced. Sephiroth eventually yielded. Sephiroth took the loss well. He had a satisfied smile on his face. “You're a worthy opponent Cloud. I hope I can beat you someday.”

“And on that day, I hope you won't forget me when you find other stronger sparring partners.”

Sephiroth stood, outraged that Cloud could suggest such a thing. “What?! Never! You're the best! When I beat you, you just have to get stronger so you can beat me again!”

“Can't spar with just me or your techniques will get stagnant.”

Sephiroth hung his head in shame. “Well, I did spar with... others today. I'm sorry.”

Cloud kept himself from laughing. “You sound like you're admitting to cheating on me.”

Sephiroth blushed. “It feels like that. I made other friends today and you weren't there with me. It feels like a betrayal.”

It was odd for Cloud to think of dating Sephiroth. The concept was ludicrous. “We aren't dating, if I recall. So I guess we're cool. You can have more than one friend. I have other friends too. We can have our own friends and still be friends. That's usually how it works.”

Sephiroth choked and sputtered, his face as red as Hedgehog Pie, and was just as fired up. “Dating?! I'm not- I mean- Ummm... You're really nice. These don't count as dates, right?”

Cloud blinked. Sephiroth was nervous. Almost acting as if he had crush on Cloud, but that was ridiculous, but Sephiroth never had a crush on him. An obsession sure, but... Cloud looked for something to change the subject. This was getting too awkward. His eyes fell on Sephiroth's ears. There was a familiar wolf earring in his left ear, and a shining silvery metal stud in the right. “You're wearing the Fenrir earring I gave you.”

Sephiroth brushed his hair aside. “Yeah! Genesis and Angeal, the friends I made today... They took me to a tattoo parlor where I got both ears pierced. I asked them to put in the earring you gave me.”

Cloud thought it looked lopsided with mismatched earrings. Asymmetrical. Imperfect. _Human_. With how Sephiroth was changing, it suited him. It was a barely noticeable change but it was still there as a declaration that Sephiroth was doing something different. “I like it.”

Sephiroth seemed pleased, and handed Cloud a silver earring from his pocket. “Here. I paid for both ears and a pair of mythril earrings. Since you gave me one your earrings you can have one of my mythril studs.”

Cloud gladly took it, and now mirrored one another. “Thanks. My left ear was feeling kinda bare.”

“Hey! I was wondering Cloud, I've got something I wanted to ask you...”

Cloud saw Sephiroth tense and the boy's entire being was burning with curiosity, hesitant to satisfy it. “Sure. Go ahead.”

Sephiroth relaxed. “Can you show me Nibelheim? Our hometown? The net didn't have any pictures, and I want to see what it looks like.”

It seemed an odd request to Cloud, considering it came from the same person who ravaged it, but he acquiesced into it. This Sephiroth was different. “Sure...”

Cloud focused on his memory of his hometown. The landscape of their shared dream changed to match it, but it went horribly wrong somehow. Buildings were on fire, people screaming... Cloud gasped, clutching his head, the horrid memory clawing into him and refusing to let go. Sephiroth was at his side. “Cloud?! What is this?! What's going on?!”

Cloud grimaced. His mind betrayed him, the nightmares leaked through, and there in the flames was the Sephiroth _he knew_. The nightmare. The Calamity's Son. The child-Sephiroth stared in horror at the other Nightmare-Sephiroth. Cloud willed it away, thinking hard of Aerith's Garden. The vision of Nibelheim's destruction disappeared, and a field of lilies took its place. Cloud trembled, the memory still burned him. “Sorry. It was just a nightmare. It still comes back from time to time.”

Sephiroth didn't buy it. “It's more than that, wasn't it? Who was that man? Why did he look like me?”

Cloud sighed. Sephiroth deserved the truth. The sad irony of Sephiroth's life was that he was the puppet and Cloud was the one who was able to have his strings cut while Sephiroth still danced to whatever tune he was told to. First by Hojo, then by Jenova. Sephiroth was alway a puppet. Cloud hoped he could cut Sephiroth's strings and let him decide his own fate. “The future. That man was, _is_ , will, be you.”

Sephiroth shook his head, wanting to deny the horror he had scene could ever be him. “No. That's crazy! I'd never burn down villages and certainly not my own!”

Sephiroth denied even the remote possibility that he'd become a monster. “It's out of context. There's more going on here. A movie set? Right? It's just me acting and this is part of some movie, right?”

Cloud shook his head. “I'm afraid not, but then again, it's all about choices. That was just one of many choices you could make. There in Nibelheim you choose to listen to Hojo's lies about your mother, your life, and you fell into a trap.”

Sephiroth bit his lip. “What trap?”

“Jenova's.” Cloud simply stated. “You decided to listen to her. Like a siren she leads her victims to destruction. She'll whisper sweet things in your ear, convince you that evil is good and vice versa. You heeded her call and it lead to that..."

Cloud looked him straight in the eye. "Are you sure you want to see it?”

Sephiroth was so young and yet he needed what no one else gave him in his life: a choice. “Yes. Let me see.”

Cloud recalled the reactor in Nibelheim. The world dissolved and burned and the bodies of friends surrounded them and there on the steps was the Sephiroth he remembered tearing away the facade to reveal Jenova's true form floating preserved in a tank of Mako. A horrifying thing that only vaguely resemble what may have been a beautiful woman once. An abomination of cancerous tumors and writhing tentacles. “That's Jenova.”

Young Sephiroth was horrified. “That's the creature Hojo told me was my _mother_?!”

“Yup. Pretty disgusting, huh?”

“And he thought it was one of the Ancients?”

“Yup. An alien parasite from space.”

“And he put some of that things _cells_ into me?!”

“And a lot more people too.” Cloud confirmed Sephiroth's suspicions.

The gangly awkward teenager version of his arch-enemy was utter repulsed by his possible future. “I think I've seen enough, Cloud.”

Cloud agreed. “Yeah. How about we go some place else?”

“Please?” Sephiroth pleaded.

Cloud didn't have to be told twice. He tried to think of some places a bit happier than this one. Then he decided the Crystal Cave where his real mother was laid to rest. Sephiroth should see what his real mother looked like at least once. The green mako crystals that encased her possessed an eerie beauty. Lucretia was a tragic beauty, reposed in bridal white, sleeping and trapped in a nightmare of her own making. The memory of his friend Vincent Valentine taking her final gift, the gun Death Penalty, and drinking the serum that would fully awaken Chaos within him. “These are your parents... Well your mother and maybe Daddy anyway.”

Sephiroth was entranced by the sight of his mother, and worn gunman that was in his heart, his true father. Vincent looked so different from the clean-cut picture in his obituary. “Mother... Father... What has that horrible man done to us?”

Vincent transforming into Chaos was a process his friend said was painful and would never get used to it. Cloud winced. “This is the one transformation that wasn't Hojo's doing but Lucretia's. To save his life, he had to become this. A blessing and curse all rolled into one.”

“That's why my mother is here... She blames herself for what happened to him and me, doesn't she?”

“Yeah.”

Sephiroth balled his fists. “That's stupid! It's all Hojo's fault! Everything! If he hadn't killed my _real_ father, or pushed my mother into those experiments, then none of these would've have happened!”

“I agree.”

Neither Cloud nor Sephiroth said that. It was dream, one where only they could speak. The figures they witnessed were all silent. However the scene of Lucretia and Vincent dissolved back into the lifestream green void. It was only three of them. Cloud, Sephiroth, and Vincent transformed into Chaos. Cloud couldn't believe it. Was his friend really here? “Vincent?!”

The demonic visage of his friend cocked his head. “Yes and no.”

Sephiroth approached the figure, both hesitant and enraptured by Vincent as a harbinger of destruction. “Are you my father? Are you here too? Like Cloud?”

Chaos-Vincent stared at Sephiroth with shock. “Sephiroth... Lucretia's son.”

Sephiroth threw his arms around Vincent with little qualms, shocking the poor man. “Yes! That's me! You're here! My real father!”

Vincent looked at a loss, and turned to Cloud with all seriousness, “Cloud, you can no longer afford to linger here.”

Cloud crossed his arms. “Good to see you too, Vincent. You get a phone, yet?”

“...”

“...”

“Cloud. You don't realize, yet, do you?”

Cloud had wondered what was happening to him. “I'm dreaming right?”

Vincent's next word's made his blood run cold. “No, Cloud. You're body is dying.”

Sephiroth let go of Vincent, gasping. “What?! Dying?! Cloud can't die! He's my only friend! Please! Save him!”

Vincent looked down at Sephiroth, taking in his young features. “I see... Perhaps these echoes will not come to pass.”

Cloud narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean Vincent? What's going on? Why can't I remember how I got here?”

Vincent sighed. He had that look on his face that spoke volumes. “You fell into a natural Mako spring. The rest of it, however... You will have to see for yourself. You must wake up before your body gives out and you stay in the lifestream forever.”

Sephiroth clutched onto Cloud and Vincent. “Does this mean I won't see Cloud again?”

Vincent hesitated, but then rested his clawed hand against his cheek. “Not as you see him here, no. He will... not be the same.”

Cloud stiffened. “What's that supposed to mean, Vincent? What aren't you telling me?”

Vincent was characteristically silent. Instead he turned to Sephiroth. He looked more lost than ever. There was something going on that Vincent wasn't telling him. Vincent stared at Sephiroth with an unreadable expression. “I will try to do better this time Sephiroth. Will you promise me to be a better man than Hojo?”

Sephiroth sniffed, biting back tears. “I will, father! I promise!”

Vincent turned to Cloud. “We must leave.”

Cloud nodded. If he was in another mako induced coma then he needed to go. Cloud turned to Vincent, eying his silver Cerberus charm hanging from his belt. “Vincent, do you need that?”

Vincent handed it over with a raised brow. “Not particularly.”

Cloud smiled and gave it to Sephiroth. “Here. A three headed wolf. One head will be you, one will be me, and the last Vincent. A pack of wolves that fight together as one. See? Not alone anymore.”

Vincent raised an eyebrow and said nothing. Cloud ruffled Sephiroth's hair and promised, “We'll see each other again, okay? Until then, do as Vincent says and don't be like Hojo. Just remember what we said, you get to choose to be a monster or a human. Choose your humanity. Promise?”

Sephiroth laughed through his bitter tears. “I Promise.”

Neither said good-bye. Good-byes were final, and this parting would not be the last one. Sephiroth would make sure of that. Cloud followed Vincent through the lifestream, no longer drifting but swimming with purpose toward a destination. The world went white and vivid sensations came over him. His lungs burned, and his nerves were on fire. His eyes opened.

* * *

The first thing Cloud had been aware of were the familiar sounds of heart monitors and the smell of medicine. The heart monitor spiked when he thought that he was back in Hojo's lab. The sight of hardwood walls, paintings of chocobos, potted plants and sunshine coming through homespun blue curtains immediately put him at ease. Not a lab. Hojo couldn't keep house plants alive without turning them into carnivorous monsters.

The second thing Cloud had been aware of was how small and weak he was. What was going on? Vincent said that he had to see for himself. “...Cloud.”

Cloud turned his head. Standing in the dark corner like a shadow, was his friend. “Vincent?”

Cloud winced at the sound of his voice. It was higher pitched. “My voice... Vincent? What's wrong with me?”

Vincent emerged from his corner to sit on a chair by the bed. He looked the same as ever. Vincent was as quiet as ever. He grabbed a hand mirror and handed it to Cloud. “You may wish to take a look.”

Cloud had trouble moving his limbs. They were so skinny and weak. Cloud dropped the mirror when he saw his reflection. He didn't shrink. He was a child! “Vincent?! Did I... de-age somehow?”

Vincent shrugged. “I suppose that's one way to think of it.”

Cloud looked around his surroundings. Something nagged at him. Those dreams he had of Sephiroth before he became the Calamity's Son or even Shinra's General. Now he was looking into a mirror and seeing that he had somehow reverted back to a child. He looked no older then ten. “Did we go back in time?”

Vincent looked unsure. “I am unsure how, but I remember we defeated Sephiroth, saved the world from both him, and again on Advent Day and against Deepground... Then I am here and yet... My memories are conflicting.”

They had somehow traveled back in time. “But how?”

Vincent shrugged. “The will of Gaea for all I know. Chaos is within me still, and my memories of you and the 'future' are hazy, like a dream or from watching a movie. Here, for all the good it will do you.”

Vincent handed him a newspaper. The headline read _“Wutai Attacks Relentless, Shinra Announces New SOLDIER Program!”_ That wasn't what caught Cloud's eye though, it was the date. “Sixteen years?! We've gone back sixteen years in the past?! Holy Shit, that means I'm only nine, ten next month! We traveled back in time?”

Vincent nodded. “It would seem so, but I'm not sure if that is the case.”

Cloud looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

Vincent paused. “What do the words Alpha or Omega mean to you?”

Cloud was confused. “Omega is the name of one the planet's WEAPONs. The one of last resort so it can take the Lifestream to another planet when this ones in danger. Alpha... I think is the first letter in this old alphabet? Some in the military use it?”

Vincent looked uncomfortable, he was silent for a long time until he finally spoke. “I think you will notice the differences soon enough, but... I think this is another world.”

Cloud raised a brow at Vincent's statement. “Ooookay. So next question, where am I and how did I end up here?”

Vincent walked by the window and opened the lace curtains. “You are in Nibelheim. A month ago I pulled you from a mako spring... Chaos heard the Planet's call him and we answered it. When I pulled your body from the mako spring, I started remembering things. I used Chaos to try to find your spirit in the lifestream. You are being treated for severe Mako Poisoning...” Vincent paused. “Your mother has been very worried.”

Cloud was stunned. “My mother? She's alive?!”

Vincent nodded. To Cloud it feels like they traveled through time, but Vincent said that this world had something very different and brought up such an odd thing like Omega and Alpha. Cloud jumped when Vincent leaned in a little too close to his neck and did he just sniff him?! “Uh Vincent? You know everyone was joking when we called you a vampire, right?”

Vincent thankfully backed away. “...I apologize, Cloud. For making you uncomfortable, but I must ask you something important.”

Cloud raised a brow, brushing off Vincent's odd behavior. “Sure...”

Vincent tugged his collar down and with complete seriousness, asked Cloud. “Will you smell me and tell me what I smell like?”

Cloud humored his friend, especially since his friend usually didn't have much humor himself. He leaned in and took a big whiff, and found himself pleasantly surprised by the spicy and woodsy scent. It was really pleasant. “Is that cardamom and sandalwood I smell? It's got a hint of something I can't describe but it's a really nice cologne, Vincent.”

“... That's not cologne, Cloud.”

Cloud didn't like that look on Vincent's face. Something was very wrong. “Vincent? What aren't you telling me?”

“Yes... I fear that this may complicate matters... But you will find out soon enough.”

Vincent wasn't just acting a little odd, he was acting downright bizarre. Like some of the weird shit he'd seen in the Honeybee Inn level of bizarre. Cloud's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a new person, a man wearing lab coat and overalls. He looked at Cloud and nearly fell over. “Son, you awake?!”

Cloud blinked, greatly confused by his surroundings. “I think? I mean...”

Cloud turned to Vincent, but he had disappeared. Typical. The man's old Turk habits die hard. Cloud winced when this stranger whooped and hollered. “Well I'll be a plucked chocobo! Hey Carol! The Strife boy is awake!”

A stout woman with a red bush of hair on her head came in, and gasped when she saw Cloud. “Praise Gaea! It's a miracle! He woke up! Oh, I'll get Claudia right away! Just her luck, she finally got pried away from her boy's bedside for food and he wakes up! She'll be over the moon! Don't worry, honey. I'll be right back with your mama!”

The woman rushed out, leaving Cloud more confused as ever. The man Cloud presumed to be the doctor, sat down on a chair that looked like it was a converted tractor seat. “My name's Doctor McCoy, but everyone 'round here calls me Doc. I'm going to look you over and then ask you a few questions if that's alright. First, can you tell me your name?”

“Cloud Strife.”

Cloud paused as the doctor wrote something on his clipboard. Probably asking the standard questions to see if he's head was screwed on right, and Cloud feared that it wasn't. “I have questions too, Doc. Like, how long have I been here?”

Doc put down the clipboard, leveling with him. “Well Cloud, you've been in my little clinic for a month for a severe case of Mako poisoning. You're still in Nibelheim. You were pulled out of a pool of mako and we thought you were done for. I won't sugar coat it, you were lucky to even be breathing, son. I told your mother your chances of recovery were slim, but boy howdy we're all glad you've woken up!”

“My mom?”

Cloud couldn't help but ask. It's been years since he's seen his mother. He was even starting to forget what she looked like. Cloud was brought out of his shock when he heard a door open and someone come running in. Cloud's eyes widened, and his heart pounded at the sight of a woman he thought he had all but forgotten; his mother.

“Cloud!”

Cloud's mother was at his side and scooped him up into his arms. Cloud cried as he took in the details of his mother that he had forgotten. The feel of her warm calloused hands and the softness of her shoulders. The scent of wildflowers, honey and sunshine that emanated from her like a comforting embrace. He wept. This was his mother hugging him. A woman who had yet to die. “Mom...”

His mother planted kisses on the top of his head. “Oh my sweet little boy! I thought I lost you for good! What were you thinking?! Going up to Mt Nibel?!”

“Mt Nibel? What was I doing there?”

His mother finally let go of him, to study him. “You don't remember? Oh, it must have been the fall...”

Cloud's mother looked to Doc for answers. “He's a little disoriented, Claudia. Only natural after where he was found. Quite frankly, it's a miracle that he not only survived falling in a mako spring but actually woke up knowing his own name. Since you're here, I'd like to check Cloud's vitals.”

Cloud's mother nodded, and scooted over to make room for the doctor. The doctor smiled down at Cloud. “Don't worry Cloud, I'm going to check a few things, and your momma's going to be holding your hand the entire time, okay?”

Cloud nodded. He felt a little annoyed at being treated like a child until he remembered that physically, and in the minds of his mother and this doctor, he _was_ a child. The annoyance disappeared when he got brief flashbacks to his memories of being in Hojo's “care”. His mother's presence and the vast difference between Hojo and this kind country doctor. The doctor checked his temperature, blood pressure, and Cloud winced when he shined a light in his eyes. “All right as rain... Except your eyes.”

“His eyes?” Claudia Strife asked, more than a little concerned.

Cloud had a feeling it was about the glow. His eyes were the only familiar thing about his reflection, the eyes of a SOLDIER. He was long used to it. His mother, not so much. When she looked into his eyes, she gasped, her grip on him strong. “They're glowing so brightly! Is it going to hurt him?!”

Doc shook his head. “I know it's a little shocking, Claudia, but I'm afraid it's a permanent side affect of the Mako Poisoning. It's pretty common to see in folks who've worked for years in reactors, but Cloud's case was pretty severe. I ain't never seen such an extreme case of Mako-Shine as Cloud's, but his case was also an extreme one. The good news that it's just a cosmetic effect, and he ain't going to blind or anything as a result.”

Cloud's mother relaxed. “That's good... But will Cloud suffer from any other side effects?”

Doc shook his head. “The main danger of Mako-Poisoning is memory loss, headaches, and a long-term coma in bad cases, like your son's. He knew his own name and recognized you, so that's a great sign.”

Cloud realized that the fact that he has memories of a future that has yet to come and skills that a child shouldn't have may raise more than a few eyebrows. He had the perfect cover; Mako-Poisoning survivor. “Of course I remember my own name and my mom... I just don't remember how I got in the Mako spring or who pulled me out.”

Doc laughed, “Well I don't expect you to, son! It's a dang miracle you remember anything about yourself at all!”

Doc coughed, his smile gone as he turned to his mother, “Now Claudia, the effects of high exposure to Mako in humans is still a pretty new science, and your son's case is unique given the severity, the fact that he's not a vegetable, and his young age. The closest other cases I can think of are those new enhanced soldiers Shinra's got... I'm only just reading through the research papers their Science Department released.”

Cloud tensed at the mere mention of comparing him to SOLDIER and his mother automatically pulled him tight into a hug. His mother pursed her lips, “You mean that SOLDIER program? Those super-soldiers they're deploying to Wutai?”

Doc nodded. “That's the one. I may be a simple country doctor but I do try to keep up with the latest discoveries in medical science. My colleagues in Midgar says its the Mako treatments that give the SOLDIERs that tell-tale Mako-Shine in their eyes. Your boy's luminosity level's in eyes are like them, but on the bright side– sorry no pun intended Claudia, Cloud night vision should be pretty dang good.”

His mother's lips twitched at the unintended pun. “So he isn't going to mutate into a monster or slowly die?”

Doc laughed. “No, Claudia! Mako is just the lifestream, we need to live, but like all good things, never to excess! Cloud should be fine now, but...” Doc pointed his finger at Cloud, scolding him, “No more playing on rickety bridges or anywhere near Mako springs or that Gaea-forsaken reactor! You got that, son?”

Cloud nodded. “I won't... I didn't mean to the first time. I just wanted Tifa to be safe.”

Cloud's mother wrapped her arms around Cloud at hearing that. She smiled at her boy. “Thank goodness for that man. I don't know what would've happened to my Cloud if he wasn't nearby.”

Cloud only had vague memories of Tifa looking for her dead mother on Mt Nibel and they fell off the poorly maintained bridge, however he survived with nothing but a few scratches. That didn't seem to be the case now. Vincent wasn't the talkative type, but from what he could tell, he was the one that saved Cloud. “What happened, mom?”

His mother brushed his hair out of his face, just happy to see Cloud awake. “Well sweetie, when you didn't come home for dinner, I got worried. Mayor Lockhart was looking for his girl and the whole town went looking for both of you when both of us realized that you two were gone.”

Cloud remembered that. “Tifa... She was looking for her mother. She thought for some reason that her mother would be on Mt Nibel or that she could get to heaven from there? I'm not sure what she was thinking, only that she wanted her mom.”

His mother and the doctor scowled. The Doc shook his head. “Oh poor Brian. First he loses his mate and then he almost loses his only child.”

Mate was an odd choice to describe someone's wife, but Cloud thought nothing of it. His mother patted him on the head, holding him close to her. “Don't worry Cloud, no one blames you. Tifa may have broken some bones, but she wasn't found in a _mako spring_ of all places!”

To Cloud's memory, that wasn't the case the first time. The town and Tifa's father hated him for only getting a scratch while she had broken several bones. Doc grumbled. “Honestly, ever since Shinra put in that reactor, Mt Nibel has gotten more and more dangerous! They were supposed to pay for the upkeep on that bridge and they haven't! This has got to be the last straw! We almost lost two children!”

Cloud's mother agreed. “I know, if it wasn't for that man, we never would have found Cloud.”

Cloud had wondered what Vincent was up to while he was out. “Man? Who was the man who saved me?”

Cloud's mother turned back to her son. “You were found far from Tifa... In a mako spring according to the man that brought you into town wrapped in his coat. He said that he stripped off your clothes and used some water to wash off the mako that clung to you.”

Doc nodded, sober and grim. “The unmistakable stench of mako still clung to you. That man was smart to strip off your mako soaked clothes and wash you off with some clean water. That may be why you're alive.” He turned to his mother. “Claudia, did you ever catch the man's name?”

She paused, trying to remember. “No, I never did, Doc.”

Cloud smiled. “Typical of Vincent...”

“Who's Vincent?”

Cloud looked up at his mom. “Oh, right... Did this man have long black hair, red eyes, and a generally mysterious air about him?”

His mother gasped, “That's him exactly! Cloud, do you know him?”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah Mom, Vincent's a friend of mine, I've known him... for awhile. He was just here checking on me before you and Doc came.”

His mother relaxed. “Oh that's a relief! I'm so glad you've made a new friend. I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever make one. I'm just sorry you haven't mentioned him sooner. We'll have to have him over for dinner so you can introduce me to him proper.”

Doc cracked a grin. “He's gotta be a good friend, seeing as he pulled you from a Mako spring, risking mako poisoning himself...” He scratched his head. “I didn't even notice him come or go. That man must be as quiet as a mouse.”

Cloud smiled. “Vincent's more like a cat than a mouse, but he is pretty quiet most of the time.”

Doc looked at his mother, his grin fell. “Listen Claudia, I need to have a word with you about your son's care after this. He's going to need physical therapy... among other things.”

Cloud watched his mother reluctantly pull herself away from his side. From what Cloud had gathered, he was in a coma for a whole month. More than that he somehow traveled back in time. Already things were different. Tifa was the one most hurt by her trying to find her mother on top of Mt Nibel the first time. Now Cloud was the one who got the worst injuries.

Cloud still had questions for Vincent whenever he shows up. Like how did Vincent manage to pull his spirit back in his body. It was only now that he fully realized that he had been drifting in the lifestream this whole time. Those 'dreams' he had of Sephiroth were real, and he is now a boy being shipped off to war and wondering if he'll ever see his friend again. Did the planet send him back to change events? If it did, it apparently sent back Vincent as well, so at least he'll not be alone. As for the rest of his friends... That remained to be seen.

Cloud's body was far weaker than what he was used to. Probably a combination of his age and the fact that he had been comatose for a whole month. Thankfully, his senses remained the same. In fact if he strained his ears he could hear his mother and the doctor talking on the other side of the house. His mother was not happy.

“But I don't have any other family much less one that's an Alpha!”

“I know, that's why I had to tell you. Since the boy's awake and recovering then this is going to be a problem. It'll be a few years before he presents, but make no mistake, he'll be an Omega. The old MRI we have here maybe finicky at times, but the machine don't lie. The parts are all there and in the right places. His birth canal is developing and will open up when his first heat hits. You know the laws around here are to protect him and you.”

“He isn't an Omega yet! He's not even ten yet!”

“You know that I have to let Mayor Lockhart and Zangen know of his status although he hasn't presented yet. Since the both of you are now confirmed Omegas that'll makes you two extremely vulnerable without an Alpha in your household. Don't take this the wrong way, Claudia, but you're no where near menopausal age. You Omegas have a much longer fertility cycle then Beta women.”

Cloud heard his mother sigh. “I know, but I really don't want to remarry. After Cloud's father... I just can't trust another Alpha. I love Cloud and I'm so glad I had him, but I just don't want another Alpha in my life.”

A heavy sigh. “There are other options, Claudia. Omegas in big cities usually take an Alpha friend as a border they trust to be a legal protector for them during heats. Mayor Lockhart lost his wife recently and isn't likely to experience ruts around your pheromones anytime soon so maybe...”

“No. I can't do that. He thought my boy put Tifa up to that foolhardy trip up Mt Nibel! The nerve of that man! Even before all this happened he had always looked down on me for being a single mother and no Alpha mate in sight. He even once implied that I was some kind of city prostitute! You and your wife are Betas. You could watch me or Cloud during our heats.”

“I could, but only an Alpha can truly keep other Alphas at bay. If you and Cloud's cycles synchronize, that's two fertile Omegas without a mate in one place. It's way too dangerous and you know it.”

“I do... But who can I ask of this?”

“I don't know, but you have a few years before it becomes a real problem. Male Omegas like Cloud don't get their first heat until fourteen or fifteen. Still, don't put it off, Claudia. Our town is small and doesn't have properly secure Heat Hotels you and your boy can shelter in for your cycles. A determined Alpha in Rut can bust down my door.”

Cloud didn't know what the hell he had just heard. Alphas? Omegas? Heats?! Cloud wondered if he had heard right. “Wait... did he say my _birth canal_ was developing? What the actual fuck?!”

The gears in Cloud's mind were spinning off in different directions trying to make sense what he overheard. Something Vincent said earlier made the usually silent gunman suggest that they didn't travel through time, but through worlds. He said something was different about this world and was this it? Something as basic as his biology? It couldn't be. The idea was just too bizarre. 

He didn't even notice his mother come in until he felt the bed shift. She smiled at him, but in her eyes he could see her worried over something. He had that same look at times. “Doc says I can take you home tonight, but he'll be coming to our house regularly to check on you.”

Cloud looked up at his mother. “Mom?”

“Yes, sweetie?” She smiled warmly at him.

“What's an Omega?”

His mother blushed and looked away, coughing in her hand. She looked distinctively uncomfortable. “Oh dear... I had hoped to put off The Talk until you were a little older.”

Cloud raised his brow. “You mean sex? I know what that is, Mom. It's when a man and a woman fall in love, get together and make a baby... sometimes.”

His mother sighed and gave him that patronizing smile he was starting to see a lot. “Well Cloud, in the real world it get a little more complicated than that... Oh! Doc! I'll see if he has videos for this ummm... sort of thing.”

Cloud wondered just what can of worms he had opened and if was too late to shove them back in. His mother pulled Doc aside and whispered to him, “I need to borrow one of those movies... You know the one about the birds and the bees?”

Doc laughed. “Ah yes! The gender dynamics! He is getting to be the age where they start asking where babies come from and why lots of people are so different down there. I'll go fish it out and give you two some pamphlets to take home.”

Cloud gulped. He had a bad, bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had found himself in a very strange land. Gaea help him.

* * *


	3. Not In Edge Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud gets The Talk and Vincent gets handed the Fatherhood Trophy.

Chapter Three

Not In Edge Anymore

Vincent Valentine looked over the horizon where Nibelheim was. With Cloud finally awake he could safely leave him to do what he should have done long before. He had time. More importantly he had a second chance to kill Hojo all over again, and this time he would make sure the man stayed dead. Deepground would be killed before it ever started. There was a long to do list, but this was first; visit Lucretia.

The Crystal Cave where Lucretia imprisoned herself was as he remembered, as was Lucretia. Beautiful, tragic Lucretia. He stared up at Lucrecia's crystalline form for answers and getting only whispers echoing all throughout the cavern. After the events with the Omega Weapon and Deepground, this was the place where he disappeared to, and now that he's traveled through time, worlds, or merely been give visions of a possible future, he came here again. This would be the last time he would visit this place, it was past time for him to start living again. When he leaves this place it will be without the burden of his sins and the chains of his punishment. His regrets were gone, leaving only ashes of a past he was ready to leave behind.

Vincent looked up at Lucrecia wondering why she never let go of her guilt. He saw how it ate away at her and destroyed her. Because she never forgave herself she brought not only suffering to herself but to others. She could have done something to correct her mistakes, instead of fighting she ran away here. He himself had done the same, it was a lesson that took him more than thirty years, give or take, to learn. “Lucrecia. I loved you, but you were too ridden with guilt and grief to truly love me. How could you? When you let my father's death haunt you for so long? When will you move on and free yourself?”

Vincent finally discovered what broke her heart so long ago. She was more than his father's student, she was his lover. Vincent felt a stab of betrayal at the revelation that she used him as a substitute for a dead love, and for his own father no less. Whispers brushed over the rocks and a voiced echoed, _“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...”_

The gunman wondered what she was sorry for. He could think of many sins that she needlessly burdened her soul with. The lab accident that killed Grimoire Valentine, using Vincent as a replacement for his father, implanting him with Chaos, marrying Hojo, or perhaps Sephiroth...

That last sin made Vincent's heart clench and chilled his blood. Ever since Cloud woke him from his long sleep, he had wondered about Sephiroth's sire. Especially now with memories of a future to come rattling in his head. The silver haired young boy and the man he would become looked nothing like Hojo. Himself on the other hand... Vincent shuddered at the possibility. He had to know. “Lucrecia, who fathered Sephiroth? Be truthful.”

The silence in the cave stretched on for many moments and at last she answered him. _“Hojo was left impotent by a horrific lab accident and his own DNA damaged. To make the perfect Alpha warrior he needed donor DNA to fill in the parts the accident left him unable to contribute. While Sephiroth carries a copy of Hojo's dormant Alpha gene... The majority of Sephiroth's genes were contributed by myself and... you. Biologically, you are more his father than Hojo. I'm so sorry, Vincent.”_

Now Vincent wondered, even more so with the knowledge of his impotency, of why Lucretia chose to marry a man as odious as Hojo. To be honest he didn't want to know and perhaps that was for the best. He couldn't say that he was surprised that he was the father, perhaps more by the method of his fatherhood. The fact that Sephiroth carries some of Hojo's genes were worrisome. Vincent didn't know the percentage. It didn't matter. Sephiroth was his son, and the poor boy needed a father now more than ever. He needed his mother as well, but if Lucretia will not fight for their son, then he will.

Somewhere in his heart Vincent knew the moment he saw Sephiroth wield the Masamune Sword in those memories the Lifestream showed to him and Chaos, he knew the madman was begotten from him. The Masamune would only let a select few wield it. He felt sorry for his son, the poor boy never stood a chance. He wondered for a moment of what could have been had he kept Hojo's filthy hands off the boy he “sired.”

Vincent briefly imagined Sephiroth would have fit in well with his mother and her side of the family. Maybe Sephiroth would never have gone insane if he had a home with deep roots? Vincent was sure mother would have been proud to have a grandson that could wield Masamune so flawlessly. It hurt Vincent to know that Sephiroth probably killed his own grandmother to win the Masamune in that other world. Even so, his mother would have gladly taken her grandson as an heir over Vincent who forsook swordsmanship. Vincent knew that he never did well enough to please her...

He almost dismissed the thought, it was pointless to lose himself of the what ifs or to mourn Sephiroth now. He mourned for the dead long enough, it was time he helped the living. Vincent halted in his tracks. His mother was not yet dead. The Wutai War was still raging. The thought that he could save her from dying in the war was too tempting to ignore. He added it to his ever growing list of things to do. He and Cloud needed to start planning.

Vincent looked up at Lucretia's serene face, as if seeing something for the first time. How could he have been so blind? The illusion of the kind, flawless angel he had of her was finally falling down. All this time he refused to see her as the imperfect human she was. She disregarded the realities around her and let her guilt complex ruin her life. She brought calamity to all the lives she ever touched... Just like the alien Sephiroth called mother... or will if he didn't stop it.

For a moment the image of Jenova floating in a mako tank and the image of Lucrecia incased in crystal converged in his mind's eye. Vincent was suddenly unnerved by the similarities. He heard her voice echo against the crystals and the stone walls. _“Please forgive me, Vincent. I'm so sorry.”_

Vincent gazed at the woman he once loved with pity. She never meant for any of this to happen. He wondered if she would ever let go and fade into the lifestream. He somehow doubted that, but he would help her. He would give her one last comfort before he left her behind him forever. “Lucrecia... Everything is alright now. I will save Sephiroth from Hojo and Jenova's influence. I will not be alone, I have friends now...” He stood up to leave.

“Thank you. It was you, you were the reason I... survived.” He hesitated for moment, “survived” was the best thing he could say to her without lying. She put him through his own living Hell, but his love for her facade gave him the strength to survive the ordeals she had caused. He looked down at her feet. Death Penalty. He would need it again. He picked it up and gave her a curt nod. “This time I will not fail our son. Good-bye Lucretia. Find peace now.”

Vincent turned away from her and walked out of the cave without ever looking back. He did not see the single tear that slid down her cheek. When he stepped out of the cave, the sunlight hit his face. The sun warmed his face, to him it felt like decades since he felt its warmth, then again it had been years since felt this alive. His eyes, long used to darkness, had trouble adjusting to the light. A blurred figure was standing on the cliff. 'Yuffie?'

No. It was just a wild chocobo. A black one to boot. “Odd... You don't see many Black Chocobos in the wild.”

Vincent looked down at the chocobo's feet, seeing old scars, most likely from tight shackles. She was also underfed. Probably bred in captivity, not suited to be in the wild. He had his answer. “Ran away from your asshole owner, did you?”

The black chocobo spotted something shiny on his belt and pecked at it. Vincent swatted her off. “You can't have my materia.”

The black chocobo tried to steal his materia. The resemblance was astounding. After Deepground Yuffie had been there with him, and she had helped him find joy in living. He found himself missing her easy, but odd friendship. Vincent strapped Death Penalty to his hips alongside Cerberus. His business here was done. Vincent looked at the black chocobo, and some greens he had in his pockets. “Hmmm, looks like I have my ride back to Nibelheim. Come girl, I know someone who is good with Chocobos.”

"Wark!"

* * *

Cloud didn't know how to feel being home. To him his 'home' was long gone, but here it was as if nothing had ever happened. His mother had wheeled him to his bedroom, tucking him into his bed, and kissed him on the forehead. She had spoiled him rotten for the rest of the night, feeding him his favorite meal in bed; potato soup with dragon bacon. It was all so surreal to have her scolding him and cooking dinner like nothing had happened.

Breakfast was the same five star treatment with his mother reminding him, “Don't forget to do those light exercises Doc had showed you.”

Attempting to do his usual squats was out of the question with his noodle limbs. He wasn't able to walk yet. Just moving them took effort, so he decided on some light stretching. It helped him think and process what was going on. At first he thought he traveled through time, but Vincent implied otherwise. Cloud was seeing hints of something not-quite-right with the world. Apparently Omega was something other than the planet's moving truck if the current location in the cosmos didn't work out. And _birth canal_? What the everliving _fuck_?!

Cloud looked down at his body, more than a little disturbed to be a kid again, but everything felt the same. Everything looked the relatively same, given his age, but something he couldn't quite put his finger on was different. Surely something as simple as “The Birds and The Bees” couldn't be any different? Right?

Over lunch, he put it out of his mind when he found himself sitting at his mother's table eating leftover potato soup with dragon bacon, something he thought he'd never taste again. The freshly baked cinnamon rolls that accompanied them were fantastic. “Wow, mom! This is great, just like I remember!”

His mother chuckled. “I'm so glad you at least remember your favorite food. Doc said you'd have some memory loss, just let your Momma know if you have any trouble remembering stuff, okay?”

“Sure...”

“And let me know if you need help standing. It's nice to see you walking so soon, but I don't want you falling down again.”

Cloud hummed and nodded as he wolfed down his food. “Sure, Mom.”

Cloud glanced in the corner of their simple home, where a really old tv and cassette tape was out and waiting to be viewed. Cloud blushed at the awkwardness of getting The Talk from his mother. He had a distant memory of his mother explaining things like condoms and don't get good girls pregnant without marrying them first. She was very adamant about that last part. “Mom? Sooo... What was that stuff you talked to Doc about? Me being an Omega? I don't know what that means. Or what an Alpha is or even a Beta. They're just letters from an old language, right?”

She looked at the tv and blushed. “I suppose you are old enough to learn such things, but surely you've noticed... _differences_ in people? Or how I get sick three or four times a year and have to spend a fews days at Doc's?”

Cloud honestly answered, “I don't remember that.”

Her blushed deepened. “Well, I'm a female Omega, and some people have these second genders and... Oh dear. Let's just watch the movie, okay? You can ask me questions after, okay?”

Cloud was confused, but he went along with it. “Sure. Movie sounds fun.”

How wrong he was. Whatever he thought, nothing prepared him for the most disturbing and mind-boggling things he had ever been through. Yes, even worse than that time he had to sneak into Don Corneo's manor in drag. This was much worse. Sooo much worse.

When the grainy black and white flick played and the title of “Gender Dynamics and You!” Had started playing, Cloud had expected one of those corny and really dated sex ed films they played in schools. The kind where the whole class inevitably giggled at the words “Penis” and “Vagina” and usually gagged when periods and STDs were brought up. This was worse. This was the universe swiping the rug out from under him.

A man with a ken doll smile and hair-cut appeared in a dated tweed suit. “Hi! Welcome to Gender Dynamics and You! An educational film, sponsored by Shinra. You can call me, Mr Beta, and I will be your guide in the wondrous world of the second genders.”

“Second genders?” Cloud asked. “What the hel-”

His mother lightly swatted him. “Hush up! And watch your language, young man.”

Cloud raised a brow as Mr Beta smiled like a plastic doll. “Yes! We are born as either girls or boys, but as we get older some of your classmates or even yourself will begin to exhibit changes. Strange new smells, mood swings or even stranger, powerful new urges! This change is called puberty. We all go through it, but boys and girls all experience it differently.”

Cloud wished the ground could swallow him up. “Mom? Do I have to sit through this?”

His mother shushed him. “Yes you do. Now be quiet and watch the movie.”

The man brought in two people that looked like they were yanked from a fifties high school yearbook. “This is Bob. Bob is an Alpha, and this is Betty. She's an Omega.”

“Now some folk like your host, can't smell their pheromones. That's because I'm what's call a True Beta, or basic. We don't have the hormonal drives Alphas and Omegas do, nor the strong tendencies to give into animal-like urges as they do. While some Betas can pick up on the pheromones Alphas and Omegas give off, they still retain their wits and lack the glands that produce such pheromones. This is because the Alpha and Omega genes are what's known as 'recessive traits' compared to the dominant Beta gene. A real swell thing to have, let me tell you!”

Cloud groaned inwardly, but continued watching what he was suspecting Shinra propaganda. “Now Bob and Betty will show us the physical differences between these secondary genders that differ from a Beta like me. Alphas like Bob are more muscular, and during puberty they will develop fangs. Around their mid-teens, Alphas will lose their secondary canine teeth and their permanent Alpha fangs will grow in. Bob, show us your teeth please!"

"Bob" opened his mouth and showed off sharp canines that belonged on a vampire. Mr Beta pointed them out. "Now these fangs are connected to glands that inject his unique and signature pheromones into any prospective mate, particularly an Omega, like Betty here. But that is not the only unique feature Alphas have, oh no. Alphas have a tight group of muscles on the penis called the Knot, as our Alpha example will now show you. Bob, if you will now remove your pants for us.”

Cloud looked to his mom as this dated film quickly turned into the weirdest porn he had ever seen, with this 'Bob' guy showing people how to 'knot' and 'mate' and properly 'claim' that Betty girl. The biting that was involved made Cloud's usually iron stomach churn, and cover his neck protectively. He had seen some weird shit in Wallmarket, but this took the cake. Even the shit he'd seen in Don Corneo's bedroom didn't compare to whatever fuckery this was. “Mom! What the fuck am I watching?! He's biting her neck like a damn vampire!”

What was more disturbing was how his mother was treating this as normal. “It's perfectly natural, and for the last time, mister, I will not tolerate that sort of language in my house!”

Cloud muttered, “There's nothing natural about this shit.”

His mother lightly flicked him on the head. “I heard that. Now keep watching.”

Cloud didn't think it could get worse. Then another man and a woman were introduced. “Now this here is Veronica. She's an Alpha like Bob, and this is Wilbur, he's an Omega like Betty. Veronica, despite being a woman cannot give birth or carry children, she can only sire them. She possesses internal testes where the females in other dynamics have ovaries and a penis with a knot like all Alphas instead of a uterus. This only became apparent when she got her first rut. After her first rut she can retract or extend it from a hidden sheath. At birth an Alpha female's penis can be confused for a large clitoris which is in actuality, the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Veronica if you can show us?”

It got worse. Far far worse. Cloud didn't think he'd find anything that could come close to the torture Hojo put him through. This wasn't worse than Hojo, however it got pretty damn close. “...Now Wilbur here, as an Omega, can only give birth to children despite being outwardly male. His external genitals, like Veronica's, is vestigial an only used for pleasure. When he got his first heat, his birth canal opened right under his scrotum, and is where Slick comes from. Now Slick is a natural lubricant laden with pheromones that acts as nectar does for flowers in attracting an Alpha...”

Cloud just sat fully traumatized through the rest of the movie. Somewhere along the way his brain simply stopped in horror of what he had seen. It was too graphic, even in black and white, to be a joke. He became numb, tuning out what his mother was saying afterwords, nodding every once in awhile. “Now, sweetie, onto the etiquette of biting and scenting among Alphas and Omegas... Cloud?”

“...”

“Oh dear.”

Cloud's mother watched as her son curled up in the fetal position and fell over sideways on the couch. Stiff as stone and the only visible movement is from his twitching eyes. “I know it can be shocking, sweetie, but that is nature. It can be both beautiful and horrifying at times.”

Cloud snapped out of his petrified state. He screamed wordlessly. His mother got up and changed the channel. “Here sweetie. After watching that, I think you deserve a break. How about the Adventures of Stamp?”

Cloud nodded, trying not to cry at the horror show that was sex-ed he had been forced to witness. “Yeah... Cartoons. Nice, safe, PG-rated cartoons.”

* * *

It had only been a few days since Cloud had woken up in Nibelheim's “hospital”, which was basically just Doc's house. Nibelheim was a small town, and even with Cloud's limited mobility at the moment, he had heard talk spread through the town. Talk, like “who are those Strife Omegas going to have as their Alpha?”

Cloud hobbled on a cane with little help from his mother grocery shopping and glared at the gossipers. He tugged on his mother's sleeve, “Mom? Are you going to get married off or something?”

His mother laughed. “Don't be silly dear. I'll only marry, if I find the right Alpha... Which will only happen when gil grows on trees and pigs learn to fly. We can take care of ourselves.”

“But...” Cloud trailed off, staring at the people who had been gossiping behind their backs. The idea that his apparent “gender” meant that he had to be helpless nagged him in ways he never had problems with. Yuffie complained a lot about the rampant sexism in her male comrades and in some of the people they had met. Now Cloud understood why his female friends knew how to hit hard. He only had a taste of it that one time in Wallmarket, but this was permanent, and more complicated by the biology of this world.

“Hi Cloud!”

Cloud nearly dropped his cane in surprise. He turned around and saw Tifa smiling at him. He couldn't help but smile in reflex at seeing a friend. “Tifa? Is that you?”

His mother laughed at they way Cloud looked at seeing Tifa. At seeing Mayor Lockhart not far behind his daughter, her smile died. Mayor Lockhart took off his hat, “Ms Strife? I was wondering if we could have a little talk.”

Cloud narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Mayor Lockhart. He still had memories of how the man treated him and his mother so badly in what seemed a lifetime ago. His mother pointed to the town water tower. “Cloud, why don't you and Tifa go play over there? But nothing rough! And don't leave my sight!”

Mayor Lockhart gave his daughter a slight nod. “Go join him, pumpkin, but be gentle around Cloud now.”

Tifa nodded solemnly. “Yes, Papa. I will.”

Her father gave her a small approving smile. “Good. Just remember that little talk we had. Cloud's an Omega, so be careful with him. It's our job as Alphas to look after them.”

Tifa blushed. “I know.”

Cloud felt his own face heat up at the mention of Omegas. He had tried to forget this world's fucked up biology. The fact that apparently he was part of this fucked version of nature still made his skin crawl in ways that he didn't know it could. He had thought the limit on disturbing shit was in Hojo's lab. It was more disturbing that apparently his “gender” acted as a kind of leash. Did he really come across as frail?

He must have since Tifa took it upon herself to escort Cloud like he was a belle at a debutante ball. It was embarrassing for both of them. Cloud glanced back in the distance of his mother looking uncomfortable, with Mayor Lockhart looking just as uncomfortable. Cloud asked Tifa, “Hey, what's your dad talking to my mom about?”

Tifa shrugged. “Apparently Omegas can't live alone without an Alpha protecting them. I think he's trying to get you and your mom to move in with us or something.”

“Oh... I heard Doc say something similar to my mom the day I woke up. I don't think they knew I was listening. Do we really need an Alpha or whatever?”

Tifa glanced down at his cane, and Cloud got his answer before he opened his mouth. “Well... You did get banged up pretty bad.”

Cloud sighed. “It easily could've been you that got hurt worse than me.”

Tifa shook her head. “Dad told me that because I was an Alpha, that I wasn't hurt so bad.”

Cloud glanced down at Tifa in horror. If she was an Alpha, did that mean she had a... He shook his head, not wanting to think about that. Then he realized the incredibly sexist thing he had heard from Tifa. “Hey, just because I'm a Omega or whatever, doesn't make me frail. I'm like this because I fell in a Mako spring. I survived what would've killed most. If anything, I'm stronger because I survived what didn't kill me.”

She blushed and glanced down at her feet. “Sorry, I was just telling you what my dad told me.” She looked at his cane and winced. “I've got a lot to apologize for, huh? Like you getting hurt in the first place.”

Cloud shook his head. “It wasn't your fault. Your dad should've been honest with you about... you know.”

Tears pricked up at the mention of her mother. “Still... I should've listened to you when you said it was dangerous, and we almost got ourselves killed.”

Cloud almost would've treated this Tifa like the one he remembered, but her youth reined him in. He wondered if she remembered like Vincent did. “Hey Tifa?”

She looked up, curiously. “Yeah?”

“Umm, I...” Cloud knew it would sound strange no matter what, so he decided to go with it. “So I had this weird dream that you ran a bar in Midgar called Seventh Heaven. We had lots of strange friends, like a man with a gun for an arm, and a talking cat. There was also this girl in pink dress who talked to the Planet.”

Tifa blinked and then laughed out loud. “That is a weird dream! I'm so glad I decided to talk to you! You're really funny and made me laugh again! Thank you, Cloud!”

Cloud had gotten his hopes up, he honestly missed having Tifa to talk to. Tifa stopped laughing. “You know what's even weirder?”

Cloud's head snapped up. “What?”

“I had weird dreams too, and they were eerily similar to what you told me. The man with a gun for an arm, a talking cat, even the girl who talked to the planet!”

Cloud's heart pounded. Some part of her did remember! She didn't recognize her as strongly as Cloud did, but it was something. “What else do you remember?”

Tifa shuddered. “Scary things... Our home was burning... Dad was dead. Shinra was responsible somehow.”

Of course she'd remember that. “Did... Was there a scary man in a black coat, long silver hair and green, almost cat-like eyes?”

Tifa gasped. “How did you know?!”

“I had the same dream.”

Tifa grabbed his hands, clasping onto them. “This has to mean something! We're sharing dreams!”

Cloud looked down at their hands. Tifa remembered, but she didn't really _remember_. It was hard to tell if he could trust her like the Tifa he knew, but it was something he'd have to talk to Vincent about. “Tifa... I uh have something to tell you, but it's something you can't go around telling people.”

Tifa nodded her head. “I promise! What is– Oh!”

Cloud looked behind him to see what got her attention. He wasn't alone it seemed. The whole town was staring at the mysterious stranger in red that was riding into town on a black chocobo. Vincent made quite the entrance. Had he a cowboy hat, he'd look just like a gunslinger hero riding into town. Cloud grinned, and eagerly hobbled toward his friend. “Vincent!”

Vincent looked down at Cloud. “...You are mobile again.”

Vincent looked around at the crowd whispering at the scene he and Cloud made. Cloud's mother rushed toward her son, putting her arms on his shoulders. She studied the stranger that seemed to know her son. “Are you the same man who rescued my son?”

Vincent nodded. “I am. You are his mother?”

Cloud cleared his throat. “Mom, this is Vincent Valentine. He's my friend.”

Claudia Strife gave Vincent a smile. “I'm Claudia Strife, Cloud's mother. I can't thank you enough Mr Valentine for pulling him from that Mako spring.”

Vincent shrugged. “Cloud saved me before when I found myself stuck in a pit. I simply did what any friend would do.”

Cloud asked his friend, “Hey, are you staying awhile? I think we need to talk.”

Vincent inclined his head. “Yes, we do, but perhaps not here... I believe this was yours. I found it on your clothes when I pulled you from the Mako Spring.”

Vincent reached into his pocket and handed Cloud a red materia. As Cloud studied it, he realized which summon it was. There was only one like it in all of existence and Cloud had found it on a forgotten far-off island in his long quest chasing Sephiroth around the world. The Knights of Round. Cloud had it equipped to his Fusion Sword. If it was in Cloud's hands then did that mean...

“Oh Cloud! Is that a _summon materia_?! I don't think I've ever seen one outside of books or museums! Where did you find it?! Oh never mind, thank the nice man, now.”

Cloud nodded, hope alight in his eyes that he'll get his sword along with his vast materia collection later. “Thanks Vincent. For keeping them safe.”

Vincent nodded. The message was made clear. Cloud was pulled from that Mako spring a child, but also wearing all the gear, armor, and weapons that he remembered having. The black chocobo Vincent came riding in, pecked at the materia in Cloud's hand. Vincent reined her in. “Yuffie, no. That's not yours.”

Cloud snorted. “Did you name that chocobo, _Yuffie_?”

Vincent's lips twitched with a faint smile. “She likes to take materia from people. Remind you of anyone?”

Cloud sputtered and laughed at their inside joke. “Oh that's perfect!”

“Mr Valentine is it?” Claudia Strife meekly asked the silent gunman. “If you are staying awhile in Nibelheim, you're welcome to our home. It's the least I can do for you after saving my son... And you don't seem to be a stranger at all to my son, so it'd be nice to hear how you know each other.”

Vincent gave her slight nod. “I welcome your hospitality Mrs Strife.”

Cloud saw his mother blush. “Oh, just Claudia. I have no mate.”

Cloud raised a brow at Vincent, who seemed just as uncomfortable with the fact that his mother just flirted with him. Vincent glanced around him. “I would appreciate it if you could show me the way, Claudia?”

“Of course, Vincent! I've even got an old stable you can use to put up your chocobo.”

Cloud looked around at the gathered crowd, all staring at them. He noticed Mayor Lockhart march up to them, eyeing Vincent suspiciously. Tifa, trailing behind her father, stared at Vincent with wide eyes. Cloud's and Vincent's exceptional hearing picked up her whispered, “Vincent? It can't be!”

Vincent and Cloud glanced at each other with the same thought; Tifa may remember something, even if it wasn't everything. However, Cloud wrinkled his nose as he picked up a strong scent coming from Tifa's dad. He wasn't sure what it was, but it reminded him of that same smell on Vincent but it was less pleasant, more acidic. Cloud bristled at the way Tifa's dad seemed to be hovering closer to him and his mom, like Vincent was a threat. “Hey Stranger, haven't seen you around these parts. I hear you saved one our kids? So I can't help, but thank you. Your stay at the inn's on me.”

Vincent raised a brow. “...”

Cloud saw Mayor Lockhart growl slightly, revealing fangs. An Alpha, according to the world's most horrifying educational film for children. The strong scent that made Cloud feel an instinctual wariness that he'd not felt before. Even his mother shrank back from the stench Tifa's dad was putting out. “Listen stranger, I'm grateful for what you've done but you reek of trouble. A strange Alpha like you shouldn't be staying in a house of two unprotected Omegas.”

Vincent curled his lip, revealing his own fangs. “I am no stranger to this family or this town. Whether I stay with the Strifes or not, that is up to the Strifes. Not you.”

Mayor Lockhart did not back down. “Maybe in the big cities lone Omegas can look after themselves, but not out here. As Mayor and the head Alpha in this town, I believe I have the right to tell strange Alphas like you to scram.”

Cloud snapped. He's had enough of this fucked up world treating him and his mother like this because of it's own fucked up rules. “Hey! I am not a chocobo you can just buy and sell!”

Claudia narrowed her eyes at Mayor Lockhart. “ _Brian Roy Lockhart._ ”

Uh oh. The full name. Cloud and the growing audience knew that their mayor was in trouble. Cloud watched his mother march right up to Tifa's dad and jab him in the chest with a finger. “We've had this talk before, and now you're making me repeat myself. I don't need an Alpha to look after me and my boy. He's not even presented yet, and already you treat him like you own him! You don't! He's my son, and his well-being is up to me! Now my boy has a point. We aren't animals you can buy and sell. I'm an adult and I have made up my mind, if Vincent there wants to stay with us, then that's that. You ain't my daddy, or my brother, and you certainly aren't my mate, so can take that primitive sexist behavior and shove it where the sun don't shine!”

Claudia marched off, glancing at Cloud and Vincent. “Come on, Vincent. My house is this way.”

Cloud's mother left no room for argument. Even Mayor Lockhart was at a loss for words. The crowd were either stifling their laughter or hanging their jaws open at seeing him get chewed out by an Omega woman. Vincent and Cloud looked at each other and obeyed. Behind them, they heard Tifa harshly whisper to the still stunned mayor, “Dad! Let's go home! You're embarrassing me in front of everyone!”

Cloud was sure that they'd be the talk of the town for sometime to come. When he stumbled, Vincent caught him by the scruff of his shirt. Cloud thanked him silently and Vincent set him down with a nod. It was a quality they appreciated in the other; a silent understanding.

When they got home, Cloud's mother showed them to the empty barn, where Vincent's new black chocobo could stay. When she said she'd clean it up for him, Vincent politely declined and started cleaning out a stall for “Yuffie” the chocobo. Claudia smiled and thanked him. “Thank you, Vincent! When you're done, I'll have a big lunch waiting for you!”

Cloud heard his mother humming happily in the kitchen. “Oh Cloud, isn't this nice having such a polite Alpha like him in the house? I wish you invited Vincent sooner. Why didn't you tell me about him sooner?”

If Cloud didn't know any better he'd say that his mother was checking Vincent out. “Uh... I guess it never came up?”

His mother chided him and started working on a feast for their new guest. Cloud took the opportunity to “go get some fresh air.” His mother yanked him back and gave him a glass of water. “If you're going to check on our guest, give him this glass of water. Cleaning that barn's going to be thirsty work.”

Cloud saw his mother looking out the window where a clear view of the barn could be seen. Or rather, a clear view of the man cleaning out said barn. Cloud took the glass and headed out, almost laughing at the idea of his mom crushing on _Vincent_ of all people.

* * *

“Okay so apparently you're one of these Alpha things, and I'm one those Omegas thing. My next question is why didn't you tell me straight off that this was some kind of weird parallel world with a real fucked up biology system?”

Vincent shrugged as he cleaned out a water trough in the sunshine. “You wouldn't have believed me.”

“Fair enough...” Cloud then teased him a little. “I think my mom has the hots for you.”

Vincent squirmed. It was rare that anything could shake the man's stoicism. “I... noticed.”

Cloud looked out at his hometown that he could see further down the hill. Un-burned. “So what now? We both saw glimpses of the future... or at least _a_ future.”

“Save Sephiroth. Kill Hojo. Destroy Jenova. Burn Shinra.”

“Easier said than done.” Cloud glanced at his gunman friend. “I'll leave the pleasure of killing Hojo to you since I did it last time.”

Vincent glanced at Cloud with a wiry smile. “And I'll leave saving Sephiroth to you... He seems to have formed an attachment to you... An attachment that could be made _complicated_.”

Cloud raised a brow. “Complicated? How so?”

“You're an Omega.”

Cloud blinked. “So? What does me- Oh. Shit. Right. This place's fucked up biology. I'm like some kind of girl in this world that people can sniff out like damned dogs.”

“People like Sephiroth. According to the sources I've gathered, Sephiroth is an Alpha, as will any potential SOLDIER candidate be. Omegas and Betas need not apply.” Vincent helpfully informed Cloud.

Cloud raised a brow. “So Sephiroth still gets to be a guy, and I'm some kind of girl.”

Vincent sighed. “No. You are still by this world's definition, a guy. You are just an uncommon class of guys who are able to give birth.”

Cloud had trouble wrapping his mind around this. “So I'm a freak?”

Vincent shook his head. “A rarity. Omegas are the smallest percentage of the population, with male Omegas being rare, even more so than female Alphas.”

“That still sounds like a freak.”

“ _A target_.” Vincent corrected. “Male Omegas like you are generally sought after more by Alphas.”

Cloud's brain still had gears falling off from trying figure out how people in this world worked. “Dear gods, _why_? I have a dick. Last I checked, not a lot of guys went for that.”

“Different world. Different standards of desire. Male Omegas have stronger pheromones and bodies... And are said to be easier to please sexually.” Vincent blushed. "Not my personal opinion, mind you... Just the world in general."

Cloud shook his head. “This is so fucked up, Vincent. What kind of world is this that I'm going to grow _a cunt_?”

Vincent raised a brow at the vulgar word. "The polite term is 'birth canal', but I suppose it serves the same purpose."

Cloud shuddered as he realized something. “If Sephiroth is one of those Alphas, then... What would he make of me being one of these Omega things?”

“A potential mate that he can fill with his pups.” Vincent said simply. “As I said, he has formed a strong attachment to you. Your compatible genders will make things complicated.”

Cloud did not want to think about that. It was a giant pile of nope that he really didn't want to deal with. Sephiroth in his memories was a madman with a tragic past that he slowly unraveled. This Sephiroth was a lonely child who wanted some friends and a family. Now Cloud learns that in this world, they're now biologically hardwired to fuck each other? “Hey! He has a strong attachment to you, too! I did tell him that you were his maybe-daddy. He seemed happy at the idea that anyone but Hojo was his father.”

Vincent stared at him. After a long pause he admitted, “I visited Lucretia... In the crystal cave. She said Sephiroth was created from her DNA, my own, and... very little of Hojo's. Namely one copy of Hojo's Alpha gene. As well as some of Jenova's cells.”

Cloud grimaced at that. “So he has a choice between two sets of parents?”

Vincent nodded. “It would seem so.”

“Personally, you and Lucretia are the winning role models.”

Vincent snorted at that. “An ex-Turk and an irresponsible woman with a loose sense of reality as the better parents... Sounds like someone had been scraping the bottom of the family barrel.”

“Sad, isn't it?” Cloud gave his friend a bittersweet smile. “To be fair, I think you're a good man. At least the man I see right now. You're certainly a better father to Sephiroth than Hojo.”

“A Marlboro would make a better father than Hojo.”

Cloud laughed. “And probably just as pretty.”

Vincent's lips twitched. “Now, now. Let's not insult Marlboros.”

It was cathartic to laugh with a friend, even one as broody and silent as Vincent. Perhaps it was the hope that they could make a better future for themselves than what they had seen? Cloud remembered something. “Hey, I think Tifa remembers something. She remembers us and saving the world, but thinks it was some kind of weird dream.”

“I had the same feeling as well.” Vincent paused in his tasks, glancing at Yuffie The Chocobo. “Do you think some of our other friends remember as well?”

Cloud shook his head. “I don't know, but... I feel like Aerith probably would. I mean, Aerith's an Ancient, I was in the lifestream itself, you have one of the planet's Weapons inside of you, but Tifa doesn't have any connections to the planet like we do, and she just thinks of you and me as distant memories of a dream.”

Vincent hummed in agreement. “The stronger the connection to the planet, the greater the chance they might remember that other life we shared together.”

Cloud glanced at 'Yuffie' the chocobo. “You miss her, huh?”

Vincent said nothing. Cloud had a feeling that the two had grown close, whether or not it was romantic in nature, he didn't know. Judging from the silent gunman's wistful expression, the spark was at least there. “I'm sorry, Vincent.”

Vincent raise a brow. “What for?”

“She may not remember us, or you.”

“That doesn't matter. We have a chance for a better future, maybe for Wutai as well?”

The Wutai War. As of now it still raged, and it would be years before it would be over. Wutai held out for a very long time. “You think we can help them win?”

Vincent shook his head. “Shinra is relentless. They will never stop until every spot of fertile land is claimed.”

“We stopped them before.”

“Only with the planet's help and Sephiroth destroying everything in his wake using the Black Materia.”

Cloud remembered how much Sephiroth had hated Shinra when Cloud had told him the full truth. “Maybe if we're careful, we can weaken Shinra.”

“Hmmm, all options are risky.”

“We have years to plan.”

Vincent looked down at Cloud. “And years to get you into better shape.”

“So I guess that's back to your plan. Save Sephiroth from going insane. Kill Hojo before he creates more monsters. Destroy Jenova before she can infect the lifestream.”

“I won't be able to do this alone.”

Cloud was almost insulted that Vincent even thought about leaving him out. “Hey, I know I'm weak as a limp noodle, but don't count me out yet. I'm getting stronger everyday, and I think I still have my original mana levels.”

That piqued Vincent's interest. “Oh?”

Cloud fingered the red summon materia in his hand. It could hear the whispers of the knights within, and magical energy thrumming through his body. They would answer his call at anytime. “I have more than enough mana to summon them. I can feel it.”

“Curious. Chaos whispers of it to me, he calls you OMEGA, as in the Weapon of last resort.”

Cloud was still unsure of that. “The planet, it called me that too. It's hard to figure out, but I think it did something to me, something to save it from Jenova.”

“Makes as much sense as anything else... Like an Omega boy being the OMEGA Weapon.”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “This Alpha-Omega gender thing is still really fucked up... Getting off the subject, do you have my stuff?”

Vincent nodded and took out a pack filled with dozens of materia, accessories, and a ton of gil. “Your sword and clothes are hidden up the mountain in a cave. The sword was too large to gracefully carry, and your clothes I did not think were valuable enough to steal.”

Cloud grinned, ecstatic to see some of his gear back. “Vincent, I could kiss you!”

Vincent had a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. “Please don't...”

“Well, at least I don't have to worry about financial troubles for awhile. And if we need more gil, I can use the old stand-by of mastering weak materia I buy for cheap and selling them for an easy eight grand when they're mastered.”

Vincent agreed. “If I recall, you also had a knack for breeding chocobos.”

Cloud looked at the black chocobo Vincent caught. It was hard breeding black ones. The fact that he caught one in the wild was a serious stroke of luck. When he examined Yuffie The Chocobo, he discovered the same thing Vincent had. “I think this one was abused. Probably ran off from her old owner.”

“Indeed.”

“She's still a really great quality chocobo, with a bit of TLC and some Sylkis Greens she can really clean up at the Gold Saucer... Or better yet, we can breed her if we can find a Wonderful grade male and get some Zeio Nuts.”

“Zeio Nuts only grow on Goblin Island and the only guy who grows Sylkis Greens is far north of Icicle Inn.”

“Which is why Gold Chocobos are so rare, but considering the places they can get to without relying on anything Shinra makes or controls...”

“It would be worth the effort.” Vincent finished for him. “And it doesn't hurt that they don't need to run on mako energy.”

“Precisely.”

Vincent looked at Cloud, his lips twitching into an almost smile. “I have a feeling that you are destined to be a delivery boy in this life as well.”

Cloud laughed. “Better a delivery boy than signing up for SOLDIER. I am not doing that again.”

“Your Omega status would bar you from any kind of military service.”

Cloud glared at Vincent. “Yeah, thanks for reminding me about that...”

An idea came to Vincent. “You have a better chance at meeting Sephiroth as a delivery boy than as SOLDIER candidate. It would allow you to travel, gain resources, find people...”

That was true. “Would Sephiroth remember me?”

Vincent shook his head. “I do not know. To him, you and I may be nothing more than dreams, but...”

Vincent picked up a mismatched pair of earrings that he got off of Cloud when he had went for a swim in a pool of Mako. One was his Fenrir earring, and the other was a simple mythril stud that Sephiroth gave him. Tiny metal pieces of proof of their meeting in dreams. “Well, I guess we wait and see, if he remembers the promises we made.”

Vincent nodded. “I suppose this means I may have to call your home mine if I am to help you get in fighting shape.”

Cloud smirked. “I don't think my mom would mind. She _likes_ you.”

Vincent blushed. “You know that I'm an Alpha, right? Traditionally speaking, moving into your home involves mating and claiming your mother, and guarding over the both of you in your heats.”

Cloud's smirk fell. “Oh. _That_. I keep forgetting that weird little detail about this world.”

“It's not exactly small, Cloud.”

Cloud nearly fell over in shock. “Was that a dick joke?”

Vincent snorted. “Not intentionally, but if that's how you wish to interpret it...”

“...”

“...”

“Nice talk, Vincent. I'll let you finish up here.”

“That's fine.”

Cloud walked back into the house, feeling more than a little hopeful, and grossed out by the fact that Vincent and his mom may shack up in the future. The thought of Vincent becoming his step-father was a weird thought.

* * *

Vincent stood like a shadow in a corner as Claudia Strife tucked in her son for the night. He had to admit that with the daunting tasks ahead of them, none was more daunting than convincing this mother that her son needed to learn how to fight and possibly travel so far from home. She glanced at him, her eyes half lidded, and she gave him a shy smile. “Well, Vincent, Cloud's all tucked in. So it's just us adults now.”

Vincent knew that wasn't true. He could feel Cloud listening in on them. His cheeks reddened. “Miss Strife... I uh...”

She giggled. “Just call me Claudia. You've earned it after patching up that ol' barn. It's nice to actually have a chocobo in it again.”

“Very well... Claudia.”

She went through the cabinets and fished out an amber bottle of bourbon hiding behind a box of oatmeal. “Cloud was right when he described you as the quiet type.”

“...”

Vincent said nothing. He really was the quiet type. He let Claudia pour him a glass, and they sat on opposite sides of the table. Claudia stared. “So, how long you plan on staying?”

“Not sure.” Vincent honestly replied. “Probably a few years.”

“So awhile then.”

Vincent nodded. Claudia continued. “Are you actually going to move into the village?”

“Only out of necessity.”

Claudia studied him. “Hmmm, is Cloud the reason?”

Vincent was once a Turk. He knew an interrogation when he saw one, but in this situation honesty was the best policy. Just not being _too_ honest. “Cloud needs training, and someone capable of fending off grown men with combat training from Shinra.”

Her eyes widened. “We're a quiet town, Vincent. We don't get much trouble out here.”

Vincent shrugged. “That may be true for now, but there is a war in Wutai. Nibelheim is the closest village to Wutai on the Western Continent. If sea routes become unreliable, then Nibelheim will become part of Shinra's supply lines. That means rowdy, pent up Alpha soldiers and troopers.”

Claudia downed her shot bourbon in one go. “Well, shit. I didn't think about that.”

Vincent blinked. Cloud's mother was a different person when not around her child. “I do not mean to scare you, Claudia, but to simply tell you the truth.”

Claudia nodded. “Thanks for that... but I can't help but wonder what your attachment to my son is... Or anything about you for that matter. You said back in town that you're not a stranger to this town and yet I don't remember a fella like you. Believe me, you stand out.”

Vincent paused in thought, looking down at his current attire. “My hair was shorter then... And I wore a black suit.”

Claudia narrowed her eyes. “You work for Shinra?”

Vincent shook his head. “Not anymore. I quit over twelve years ago.”

“Any particular reason you feel like sharing?”

Vincent glanced at Cloud's bedroom door where he knew he was listening. “Shinra took everything from me. My lover. My humanity... and my son.”

Claudia gasped in horror, “Odin's beard! What happened?!”

Vincent downed his bourbon and poured himself another shot. “An odious Beta of a man decided to convince my lover to conduct experiments on our unborn child in exchange for funding her research. He told her it would be harmless. He lied. I said no and told him to stop. He shot me in the stomach and left me for dead. When I came to, I find out that she committed suicide after Shinra took our child away the moment he was born, and raised as a weapon. Our son is now in Wutai fighting for Shinra. I only met him once, he has his mother's smile, and her stubborn bangs.”

Claudia stared at Cloud's bedroom door, no doubt thinking about what if that had happened to her. “Mad scientists conducting experiments on pregnant women... It sounds like the work of fiction but... I worked as a maid in Shinra Manor. I heard whispers of the sort going on behind closed doors. Not that anyone ever listens to The Help.”

Vincent saw some hidden pain in the woman's eyes. Probably because she was nearly identical to her son. Cloud had the same look. “I'm listening.”

Claudia looked up, surprised. “I- Uh... Thank you. This isn't easy to say. I love Cloud. I really do, but... His conception was not... a pleasant experience for me.”

Vincent put the pieces together. A single mother, no hints of a wedding ring or a claiming mark. No pictures of any men with her or Cloud in the entire house. “Cloud's father was an Alpha, wasn't he?”

Claudia nodded. “I went into heat unexpectedly. He took that as consent, and the fact that he was my boss. If I didn't let him, he'd fire me, and said he'd shower me with wealth. The Heat kills your sense of reason, makes you want only one thing to end the ache between your legs.”

Vincent's eyes widened. She worked in Shinra Manor as a maid, her boss was an Alpha... could it be? “Claudia... Cloud's father... was it President Shinra?”

Claudia gulped. Tears pooling in her eyes. She nodded. Vincent poured her a glass. “Don't worry. I believe you. I have personal experience working for that man. He's the kind of man who takes what he wants with no thoughts of the consequences. One of many of my sins that I must atone for.”

Claudia swallowed. “I think I remember you now... You're a Turk, aren't you?”

“Ex-Turk.” Vincent corrected.

“Your lover... It was Miss Crescent wasn't it?”

Vincent was genuinely surprised. “You knew her?”

Claudia wiped her eyes. “Yeah, she was nice, but always got so nose deep in her work that she forgets to eat. Took her coffee with hot cocoa mix and whipped cream.”

Vincent smiled faintly at the memory of her. “I'm glad someone besides me, remembers her.”

Claudia nodded. “She was good to me, I'm just sorry about what happened to her.”

Vincent inclined his head. Claudia smiled. “Well, since you're not a stranger, you can stay here.”

Vincent raised a brow. “I'm an Alpha... Won't that present some problems?”

“Be honest, are you actually interested in me?”

Vincent blushed and shook his head. “I'm flattered, but... I don't think I go through ruts anymore. Not after... What I've been through.”

“Makes sense, after what happened to Miss Crescent and losing your boy like that. Grief and depression does that to Alphas.” Claudia smirked. “And don't worry, you maybe a handsome Alpha, but I've had enough of 'em to last me a lifetime... But having one in my house solves a few problems for me.”

Vincent glanced at Cloud's bedroom door. “And a few problems for Cloud.”

Claudia downed her second shot. “Bingo. My boy needs a father, more than that, but an Alpha that can keep the brainless horn-dogs away. He needs one that's better than the asshole that sired him. But now, along comes you, like magic, or a miracle... I can't help but be grateful have a bit of luck after a lifetime of bad.”

Vincent wondered if someone out there found it amusing that he was suddenly being elected Father-Of-The-Year. “I do need to look out for Cloud, I owe him. Being his and your legal Alpha guardian would solve those problems.”

Claudia smiled, a mischievous glint sparked in her eyes. “So how did Cloud meet you?”

Again, Vincent's Turk training came in handy. “Promise you won't punish the boy?”

The woman's smile fell. “What did he do?”

“...”

“...”

“He snuck into Shinra Manor, and found me in a coffin in the basement. He freed me, and I am in his debt for that.”

“He what?!” She controlled herself, took a deep breath and asked. “That boy is always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong... but what were you doing in a coffin?”

Vincent shrugged. “Shot by a Shinra Scientist, experimented on, and left for dead. He put me in that coffin, locked it, thinking I was dead and buried.”

Claudia's eyebrows rose. “Like a vampire?”

Vincent sighed. “Why does everyone say that? No, I don't drink blood. I'm just one experiment in a long line of them for Shinra's quest for a perfect super-soldier. I'm sure you heard them boasting about it on TV. Just... not the grisly details of how their SOLDIER came into being.”

Claudia winced. “Ouch. Guess no one really stops and thinks about what Shinra does as long as its convenient for us. Like how no one's able to grow a damn thing since they put in that reactor... Don't worry, I won't blab about your secrets, just as long as you don't blab mine.”

Vincent nodded. “Deal.”

Claudia got up and took their glasses. “I have a spare room that can be yours. I'd offer to share mine, but I think that'd be a little awkward for both of us.”

Vincent gave a wiry smile. “I don't think Cloud would handle the idea well.”

Claudia laughed and wished Vincent good-night. After she turned in, and Vincent felt her breathing even, he silently got up out his own bed and waited outside of Cloud's. In just a moment he heard movement from Cloud's bedroom and the door creak open. Vincent took in the shadows under his eyes. “President Shinra is my _father_?”

Vincent wasn't sure what to say other than, “Apparently.”

Cloud shuddered. “That means Rufus was, _is_ , my half-brother.”

“It would seem so.”

Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose, “Fuck.”

“That is how it started.”

Cloud glared at his friend. “Your humor needs work.”

Vincent shrugged. “If I am to be a father to Sephiroth and a legal one you, I need to work on what Barret calls 'Dad Jokes'.”

Cloud shook his head. “Well, I could do a lot worse.”

“I haven't tried to destroy the planet.”

Cloud had a bitter smile. “A low bar, but sad that's it is one that more than a handful still manage to limbo under it.”

Vincent agreed. “True, but tomorrow we start training.”

Cloud flexed his skinny noodle arm. “No kidding. There's no way I can even budge my sword much less lift her.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos and comments I've been getting. I will try to post regularly and I will give you guys a heads up if the next chapter will be delayed. Next chapter will be up next weekend on either Saturday or Sunday night.


	4. Gold Saucer Date With Sephiroth Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Vincent's favorite holiday I'm sure. (Probably not) Anyways, this chapter was so long that I had to cut it in two, even so, this part is longer than the last three chapters. I'm grateful for all the love I've been getting for this fic and I want to give some of that love back! Thank again for all the awesome comments! So please enjoy!

Chapter Four

Gold Saucer Date With Sephiroth

Part 1

The snow fell softly in Wutai's forests, the cold air burned the lungs, as did the smoke from the fort that was on fire around him. Sephiroth stood in the flames of Wutai's fortress that he had successfully taken. Shinra troopers swarmed inside, following the path of destruction he had made for them. A sweet smell like honey and flowers cut through the stench of smoke.

Something dropped to the pit of Sephiroth's stomach when an Alpha trooper led out a group of a dozen women and even more children. This wasn't just a military fortress. There were families here. Sephiroth spotted where the sweet smell was coming from, a young Omega woman with her children clinging desperately to her as she was helpless and hardly able to move in the depths of her Heat. His Alpha Troopers were gathering around the woman. Sephiroth easily ignored that instinct within him to mate with the fertile Omega in front of him, and yanked his own soldiers away from her.

The Alpha he threw to the ground bared his fangs at him. Sephiroth growled, letting his own Alpha pheromones drown the other's out, demanding complete and total submission from his own soldiers. Was is it so hard to control one's own urges? Sephiroth looked down at his Alpha troopers, now cowering from their own commander. “C-commander Sephiroth! The Omega! She's in Heat! I need-”

Sephiroth punched him. Hard. He fell to the ground, face planted flat in the snow. Sephiroth towered over his own soldiers. “You will not act like animals! Am I the only here with any honor?! Control yourselves, now!”

Sephiroth spotted several of his own Alpha soldiers beginning to go into a rut. His own desire to mate and claim was easily crushed with the promise he made to Cloud. To fight with honor, to never kill the innocent. Claiming a scared, helpless Omega woman, who could not properly consent, there was no honor in that. Sephiroth kept his own soldiers away from the women. “They will be leaving.”

“But sir! They're enemies! We have to take them prisoner! Those are Heidegger's orders!”

Sephiroth curled his lips, baring his own fangs. Heidegger knew. The bastard knew this fort had Omega women and children. He had probably planned to let the Alphas at the base keep them, too. Sephiroth would not let them. “These are my orders. Let them go, and kept your knots in your uniforms. Disobey them at your own peril.”

Sephiroth glanced at the Omega woman in heat, and the other Omegas and children surrounding her, utterly terrified of him. “Take this women and go. If you delay I cannot guarantee her safety or yours.”

They nodded, grateful for the surprising act of mercy that was shown by an Alpha who was supposed to be their enemy. Another Omega woman smiled at him, tears in her eyes falling and creating tracks in her soot covered face. “Thank you, sir. We are glad at least one of Shinra's Samurai have honor.”

Sephiroth sliced open the door to the fortresses's stables. “Take the chocobos inside. Get far away from here. Shinra has no need or room for them. They will simply slaughter them for their meat. You will have more need of them in this weather.”

The Wutai Omega women were stunned and quickly took the scared birds and helped each other onto them and fled with their children. Sephiroth turned to his soldiers, all of them stunned. Sephiroth saw his two friends, Angeal and Genesis looking proud of him. Angeal clapped him on the shoulder. “You did the right thing, Seph. Our men would would've gone into ruts and mated with them.”

Genesis looked disgusted at the Alpha Sephiroth had yanked off of the Wutai Omega in heat. “How disgusting. Can this Alpha not even keep his own knot in his pants?”

“Apparently not.” Sephiroth said as he glared at the Alphas.

Angeal shook his head. “Are we supposed to lead trained soldiers, or babysit brainless Alphas?”

Another Shinra trooper, a Beta judging from the lack of pheromones had been recording Sephiroth's storming of this fortress, had cleared his throat getting the attention of the three elite SOLDIERs. “Sephiroth, sir? I think you did the right thing... Even if the rest of Shinra didn't agree, it was noble of you and I'll make sure the world knows that.”

Sephiroth sighed. “Heidegger will probably not agree, but thank you.”

Sephiroth saw many of his own Alpha troopers hang their heads in shame. The cold air and the Omega's fading heat scent had cleared their heads, leaving the bitter taste of regret. Sephiroth had no such regrets. He was a SOLDIER who fought with honor, and even if he gets punished for this, then so be it.

“Gya ha ha! I can smell victory!”

Speaking Heidegger and brainless Alphas... Heidegger himself came marching into the ruins of the fortress inhaling the air like a dog would a bag of hot garbage. “Oh ho! I can smell a bunch of lovely Omegas to choose from! Where are they?”

An Alpha Infantryman coughed awkwardly and edged away from Heidegger. “Commander Sephiroth let them go, General, Sir.”

Heidegger spun and snarled at Sephiroth who in turn glared back defiant and unmoved. “Sephiroth! Explain the meaning of this! Those Omegas were Shinra property and you just turn them loose back to the enemy?! Are you stupid?!”

At the word “property” being used to describe people, Sephiroth was ready to beat sense into his commanding officer as he did those under him. Genesis and Angeal held fast onto Sephiroth whispering into his ear, “It's not worth it, Seph. Don't do it.”

“I know it's tempting my friend, but slugging him won't make things better.”

Then Heidegger got in Sephiroth face, the hot stench of his breath curling his nose hairs. “I guess I'll have to hunt down those Wutai Omegas myself! I hope you're happy that I'll have to limp with my knot all swollen like this and for this little stunt, Sephiroth, you won't be getting a piece of those Omegas.”

Genesis and Angeal were having problems holding onto Sephiroth, who snarled and bared his fangs. “Heidegger! Those are people, not property to do as you wish!”

Heidegger laughed. “Gya ha ha! Of course they are! Omegas are born to be bred and mated and they enjoy every bit of it! Probably like that Omega mother of yours!”

Genesis and Angeal let go and stepped back. Sephiroth launched himself at Heidegger, knocking the bastard to the ground with a single, well aim fist to the face. The crunch of Heidegger's nose and the crack of a few teeth being knocked out was music to Sephiroth's ears. Heidegger tried to fight back, but each swing ended up with Sephiroth breaking each arm. Sephiroth didn't stop. Brutally and efficiently he broke each limb, bones shattering beneath his enhanced strength. No one dared stop him until Sephiroth was done. When he was, Heidegger was unconscious and his face unrecognizable.

Sephiroth panted, and his leather gloves wet with blood. He turned to the crowd of his troopers and officers, all stunned silent at the sheer brutal act they had witnessed. “All of you will listen when I say that Omegas are not cattle to raise and breed to satisfy your appetites. They are not property to be fought over and used as you deem fit. No one is exempt from this. _No one_.”

Sephiroth simply walked away back to their base with a skip in his step. He would no doubt be arrested. Genesis and Angeal worried over their friend's for this stunt. “Gen, what are we going to do? Seph is going to get court-martialed!”

“If he's lucky...” Genesis spied the eye of a Beta officer who had been recording Sephiroth's brilliant charge into Wutai's Southern Fort and his galant act of saving Wutai's Omega's from being ravaged by a Shinra Alpha. “Angeal, look!”

Angeal saw the same Beta officer and pulled him aside. “You! What's your name?”

The Beta gulped, his camera shaking in his hands. “Uh, it's Marco, sir!”

Angeal smiled. “Marco, may I please borrow your camera?”

Marco looked at his camera and at his superior officer. “I guess, am I going to get it back?”

Angeal nodded. “I promise. Gen? You still have that Omega reporter's number?”

Genesis grinned. “The one I went on a date with to score free tickets to Loveless? Yes, that strategy will work out quite nicely! Marco, my dear friend!”

Marco, a Beta officer who's sole job was recording footage of the frontlines for the public back home, stood at attention. “Yes, Commander Rhapsados?”

Genesis threw a friendly arm around Marco. “How much of that did you get?”

“Uh, most of Sephiroth's charge through the fort, the entirety of him defending the Wutainese Omegas, and Sephiroth decking Heidegger and his brilliant declaration for Omega rights.”

Angeal and Genesis shared a grin. It was time to send out a little home movie for the adoring public back home. Genesis especially was one who was born to the stage. “'Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return...' I think, my friends it is time to show the world of Sephiroth's own story of heroism and honor.”

* * *

Mount Nibel was an unforgiving mistress in the winter, her peak was sharp and cold like the dragons that came out for mating season. It was an unspoken rule in the village below that no one come up that mountain in the dead of winter. That was why one morning Nibelheim was stunned to see two figures in the distance coming down the mountain with a large dragon's corpse in tow. Until that is the dragon's corpse got stuck. A loud “Fuck!” echoed down to the valley below.

Vincent Valentine and Cloud Strife looked at the long way they still had to go to get this valuable carcass home. With the heavy snow they found that tying the dragon's body to two long longs to make a sled was easy enough to transport. At least until they got closer to town where the snow wasn't deep enough to take the combined weight of their makeshift sled and the dragon's carcass. Vincent sighed. “Now what?”

Cloud looked at the dragon they killed, it would set them up for a month at least. “See if anyone in town has a wagon?”

Vincent snorted. “They're afraid of me.”

“More like distrustful.” Cloud argued. “It's a small backwater town. In other words; slow to accept, even slower to respect.”

“Is that the town motto?”

Cloud snorted. “No, but it should be.”

Vincent crossed his arms, frustrated by their lack of progress. “No wonder you want to leave this place.”

Cloud sighed as he looked at the town. “Well, let me go put on my best puppy eyes and ask someone about a wagon.”

Vincent followed behind wordlessly, with Cloud crunching through the snow wishing he was taller. When they got down to the village the crowd whispered and stared at the two of them. Some wondered if Vincent was going to mate both of the Strife Omegas, others wondered if Vincent was some kind of monster that plans on stealing all of the Omegas in town. Cloud snapped. “Hey! We need a wagon!”

Two men broke from the crowd, staring at the large dragon corpse up the hill in plain sight. It was Mayor Lockhart and Master Zangen, a Pure Alpha who ran the village's only gym, fighting dojo, and was the defacto Sheriff. Mayor Lockhart looked at the dragon in surprise. “Howdy, Mr Valentine. You take that dragon down yourself?”

Vincent nodded his head toward Cloud. “No. I had help.”

Zangen whistled. “Little Cloud helped you? That's surprising.”

“Not really.” Replied Vincent. “Cloud needs training. We needed it's meat and hide.”

Mayor Lockhart laughed. “Cloud Strife, training? Isn't he a little young? Not to mention he's an Omega.”

Zangen didn't laugh, he was eyeing the dragon and Cloud. “Dragons are dangerous, Omegas shouldn't go near them, hell it takes a well trained team of Alphas to take down a bull dragon like this. I should know, its why I don't let Omegas into my classes.”

Cloud really hated this attitude the two “Alphas” had toward him for a mark no one could see. Zangan ran the dojo that taught fighting and defense for the village children, but forbade Omegas and Beta women on the grounds that 'their place is birthing children, not protecting them.' At least according to the so-called “Alphas” in charge of this town.

It was the most backwards, primitive attitude Cloud had the unpleasant experience of seeing for himself when he tried to use the public gym at Zangen's for a little bit of a work out. Meanwhile, Tifa was the star pupil and she was a girl. All because of this stupid ass “second gender” bullshit. Cloud felt a vein throb in his forehead, and turned to Vincent. “Hey, Vincent. The wolves that have been trailing after our kill... They're getting close to the village.”

The crowd of people murmured and some pointed and saw Nibel Wolves sniffing close to the Dragon's carcass. Vincent glanced behind him. “Two of them. Probably scouts for the rest of their pack. I'll shoot down the one in the far right ridge... Cloud, you want the one down in front of it?”

Cloud held out his arm, the Mystile bracelet with mastered Materia glowed. A sadistic smile appeared on his lips, as he prepared to wipe off the patronizing smiles off all the sexists behind him. “Yeah... A Thundaga should do, and a Magnify to increase the range.”

A great arc of lightning shot out from Cloud's fingertips, and thunderous gunfire and magic boomed and echoed off the valley and cliffs. The two Nibel wolves in the distance fell and slid down in the snow a few dozen yards. Mayor Lockhart and Zagen were speechless. Cloud turned to the two men who doubted his place. “You two can have the wolf pelts. We have more than enough with the dragon here.”

Zangen whistled. “They were over five hundred yards away.”

“About Seven hundred and fifty.” Cloud corrected.

Vincent eyed where Cloud's kill was. “Seven hundred and fifty-five, Cloud.”

“Ah, my bad.”

Vincent nodded. “An easy mistake without a proper scope.”

“True.”

Vincent and Cloud ignored the gasps of the crowd impressed by the almost super-human accuracy that had been displayed. Mayor Lockhart picked up his jaw and his dignity, and turned to Vincent. “Well, I'll be a moogle's uncle. I guess, you really do know what you're doing, Mr Valentine. Cloud's really good with materia, now. I apologize for ever giving you a hard time.”

Zangen cleared his throat, his cheeks a pretty pink. “I can get you two a wagon to haul that carcass home if you want.”

Vincent nodded curtly. “That is much appreciated.”

Zangen gladly took the offer. “We'll drag it the rest of the way. You and Cloud can go warm up in the tavern.”

Mayor Lockhart tipped his hat. “Put your drinks on my tab.”

Men and woman that Cloud knew in the crowd had started dragging a wagon out and some rope and without a word started clearing it. Other folks that Cloud had grown up with marched uphill in the snow to collect the wolf carcasses. Meat and fur weren't going to be wasted. People that had been suspicious were cheering Vincent and telling Cloud how talented he'd become. It was surprising, but rather nice. Cloud elbowed Vincent. “I did say slow to accept, not never.”

“You did.”

Cloud shook his head, wondering if this was going to be his life. People taking one look at him and assuming that he was weak and frail until he had to prove otherwise. Granted in his other life, he had another childhood being bullied by Tifa's friends. Now he was being coddled, patronized, and all for one very distinct, but invisible difference. “Vincent?”

Vincent paused as he worked getting the dragon's carcass onto a wagon Zangen and some of his students brought. Cloud couldn't help. Even after being deemed fully recovered from the Mako Poisoning by Doc, he still couldn't lift things like he used to. “You have a question for me?”

“Am I always going to be physically weak 'cause of this Omega thing?”

Vincent paused, as did the other men and a couple women that came out to help Vincent load the dragon's carcass onto the wagon. All of them were Alphas. “I do not know, but you are young.”

Zangen decided to add his two cents. “Sorry to eavesdrop, but you can use my dojo if you need a good work out, Cloud.”

Vincent raised a brow. “I thought you didn't permit Omegas because they were a distraction?”

Zangen had the decency to blush. “Well, Omegas gotta learn to defend themselves... And lift heavy stuff sometimes. Like children and laundry and-”

Mayor Lockhart elbowed Zangen and interjected. “Hey! We've got this dragon loaded!” He waved at some familiar faces, like Doc and his wife. “Hey! Carol! Go tell Claudia that her Alpha and her son brought home a mighty impressive kill!”

“Sure will! That bull Dragon'll keep y'all fed for months!”

Vincent eyed Cloud and stated, “We can share the meat. We just need the hide and other parts to sell.”

Cloud nodded. “Dragons are plentiful this time of year. Vincent and I can always kill another.”

The crowd was excited, and Carol squeaked with delight. “Oh! I'll help Claudia process the meat then!”

Cloud noticed the town in was suddenly in high spirits. Dragons were not easy to take down and when one was, the whole village chipped in. Vincent was cheered and hailed a hero, and Cloud was praised for getting so good with materia. The dragon had enough meat on it to feed the entire town. He knew his mom's freezer certainly didn't have enough room in it, and seeing kids even smaller than him getting excited for dragon stew and dragon burgers warmed him up.

Cloud and Vincent saw Claudia Strife gasping at the enormous kill her family brought home. Cloud beamed at his mother. “Look, Mom! We got you a present!”

“Mr Valentine and little Cloud took it down by themselves!” A kid shouted.

“They even shot down some wolves from like, a mile away!”

Claudia kissed both of her boys. Yes, even Vincent whose face was as red as his cloak. “Oh this is- How?! These Nibel Dragon are hard to take down without a whole hunting party! Well, you two get inside, it's freezing out there! Me and Carol will start processing it, oh! Helga! Lars! You two will be helping as well? Oh thank you, yes there is more than enough meat for all of us!”

Cloud and Vincent were shoved back into the house and had mugs of hot cocoa pushed into their hands. There was no arguing with Claudia Strife. Cloud watched out the window as his mother and half the town were cutting up the large dragon he and Vincent took down. The other half of the town were planning the party to celebrate. “Hey, Vincent. I think we're getting a hero party.”

Vincent wasn't thrilled by the idea of socializing. Even less than Cloud was. “...”

Cloud snorted. “Yeah. Me, too.”

“At least you are far from helpless. Your materia skill is better than it was before.”

Cloud groaned, staring at the Fusion Sword that was propped up by the fireplace. He couldn't wield the thing properly. He could barely even lift it. “I miss using swords though.”

Vincent cocked his head. “How heavy is the Fusion Sword?”

Cloud tapped his lips. “It's not as heavy as the buster sword was, but still about thirty pounds altogether.”

“And you can still lift it?”

Cloud went over and picked it up with both hands to demonstrate. He struggled hold it steady in hands. He struggled to move it the same way he used to. It didn't take long for his noodle arms to give out and his precious sword fell onto the floor. “That's all I can do.”

Vincent stared. “...Your body is physically ten years old, and barely over fifty pounds.”

Cloud felt a spark of hope. “You think the lifestream gave me a boost? Like SOLDIER enhancements?”

Vincent nodded. “Your speed when dodging the dragon's fire breath proved that you are far above the level of a child and most adults. Not to mention you have spent hours walking through the snow up Mt Nibel and you are not yet tired. You are stronger than you think.”

Vincent had a point. Cloud had been so focused on getting back his old strength that he hadn't noticed that he was already a lot stronger than he should be. He was still just as fast, just as tough, and just as skilled as he used to be. It was only his physical strength that was behind. He just needed time. “I can still ride chocobos like I used to. Wrangling Momotaro two months back proved that.”

Vincent glanced out at the barn where a female black chocobo and a male yellow were taking shelter from the cold and flocking together. Come spring Cloud hoped they laid a gold chocobo egg. “That is true. Momotaro should be in prime racing condition. We will need gil to fund our... goals.”

Cloud flopped onto the couch. “And luck. Sephiroth is behind the walls of a Shinra base in a war zone.”

Vincent joined him on the couch. “We've done it before. Easily. The main risk is if whether or not Sephiroth remembers the promise he made, and counting on him not to betray us to Shinra.”

Cloud found the tv remote and turned it on, flipping through channels and stopping on Midgar News. “I still can't find myself to trust him completely. Not with all the shit another man just like him put me through. Even if this some new world, with a new slate, would he even remember some figment of his imagina...”

Whatever Cloud was going to say, it died in his throat as Sephiroth appeared on the news. Vincent and Cloud stared transfixed at the footage taken at the frontlines of the war in Wutai. The newswoman's monotone voice explained, _“After having seen Shinra's First SOLDIER in action, we now get a glimpse of Sephiroth, a young Alpha leading Shinra to it's first victory in the three years since Wutai's assaults began...”_

Vincent snorted. “Wutai did not begin this war...”

Cloud stared at the footage, mesmerized by the close up of Sephiroth's face. “Vincent, look! He does remember!”

Sephiroth was wearing the Fenrir earring in his left ear, while Cloud wore the other in his right. He had his hair tied up in a high ponytail with the Cerberus charm hanging from the hairband. Vincent held his breath. “He has his hair up... Like Lucretia's.”

“With your Cerberus charm.”

The newswoman continued spinning good news from the front, _“...Calling it an honorable act, by sparing the Wutainese Omega from his own Alpha Troopers, and letting them leave. Despite orders from General Heidegger to take the Wutai Fortress's Omegas and children as prisoners of war and prizes. Omegas surveyed here in Midgar can't help, but admire such mercy and control from a powerful Alpha like Commander Sephiroth. Indeed, after seeing Sephiroth defend the rights of Omegas everywhere, it is hard not to idolize him...”_

“ _At the same time, the public outcry for how General Heidegger treated Omegas and insulting Commander Sephiroth has been overwhelming. President Shinra has not been available for comment on what charges Sephiroth will be facing, if any, for defying orders and assaulting General Heidegger. In related news, a fanclub for Shinra's First SOLDIER has been created, and dubbed The Silver Elite...”_

Cloud was stunned. “Vincent! He let them go! Those women and children! He kept Shinra from taking them!”

A wicked smile bloomed on his face after the news showed footage of Sephiroth beating the shit out of Heidegger. Cloud had never seen something so satisfying on Midgar News before now. Heidegger getting the shit kicked out of him was a sight he could watch again and again. “I think Sephiroth knocked out Heidegger's fangs. You can see one of them fly out into that burning building.”

Vincent smiled, a true warm smile that rose from the pit of a heart he long thought broken. “Perhaps he really can change... He openly defied Shinra. My son... He really did it.”

Cloud still had a seed of doubt. “You think this could be a publicity stunt? Say Sephiroth defied orders to save those women and children when in fact he was?”

Vincent shook his head. “Shinra shows little mercy, even to the helpless. This... This was a mistake and they will pretend it didn't happen. Sephiroth will most likely have any charges drop because of his newfound popularity...”

Vincent winced when the footage showed the purple and red pulp that used to be Heidegger's face, and his now toothless maw. “...And Sephiroth did knock out another Alpha's fangs... No Alpha would ever willingly agree to that.”

Cloud shuddered as he remembered what those fangs were used for in this fucked up world. Those fangs were to an Alpha as sacred as the penis was to a man, or claws were to a cat. You could live without it, but it wouldn't be a life any would be eager to go through. And Sephiroth just de-fanged Heidegger, one of Shinra's heads. “Vincent? What do they do with their weapons that they can't simply kill off quietly nor forgive easily?”

Vincent thought about it. “In this context, sent on a vacation somewhere very public. Most likely to show that Sephiroth has not been imprisoned.”

That meant Sephiroth would probably be sent to Costa Del Sol or more likely Gold Saucer. Given Sephiroth's disposition it would be a reward to the public but to those who have known him longer than fifteen minutes would know someplace loud like that would be a punishment.

Sure enough the newswoman announced, _“This just in! President Shinra has announced that First SOLDIER Sephiroth will not be charged for insubordination or assault, but rewarded for his show of honor and bravery to the enemy and standing up for Omega rights. He also announced that Heidegger is in critical condition but will survive, however for his actions toward defenseless Omegas, he will be recalled from the frontlines. And the most exciting news for you Chocobo fans at home, Sephiroth will be the VIP Guest of honor at the upcoming Gold Saucer Cup! Chocobo racers get your saddles in gear for a chance to meet Shinra's hottest new star and hero of Omegas everywhere!”_

Cloud and Vincent looked at each other and had the same thought. Cloud grinned. “What was that about me racing?”

Vincent looked out in the barn at their two Chocobos. The Wonderful Grade male they spent a month hunting for around Icicle Inn was just about ready for racing with the steady diet of Slykis Greens they've been giving him. “We had better tell your mother first...”

Cloud shrugged. “After convincing her to let me come with you Dragon hunting, I think getting her to come to Gold Saucer with us for a family vacation will be a cinch.”

“...I'm not sure how I managed that as well.”

Cloud shook his head. “I'm not sure either.”

* * *

Sephiroth sat in his cell, stewing over the latest disaster that was his failed attempt to murder Hojo in the lab. Frustrated, helpless, and angry, he laid on the cold hard slab they called a mattress. Cloud had warned him that taking down Hojo would not be easy, nor would Shinra. A sword could not solve his problems. Sephiroth sighed, “How right you were...”

Sephiroth had been called back from the frontlines to Midgar, for testing. He knew better. It was for insubordination and assaulting Heidegger. His hands were soaked in the blood of people he never wanted to kill. The higher ups weren't happy that he had let a bunch of unarmed people go. Omegas in heat and their children. They were no threat, only the armed soldiers were. Sephiroth had his honor and he would keep it.

Hojo had him strapped to a table, ready to extract more samples, inject him with more Mako and poison, and see what made Sephiroth disobedient. Mercy was a weakness according to Hojo. A weakness that Hojo wanted to purge from Sephiroth. That was when Sephiroth finally snapped. He grabbed the Muramasa by his side, Hojo's head was right there and he easily had the strength and the speed to cleave his sick mind from his shoulders, and he couldn't. Hojo merely smiled at him and said, _“Did you think you could simply end your own creator? My dear boy, there are cells in your body that will keep you from killing me. Can't you hear her glorious voice? Reunion! She won't let you kill me, boy! You are my creation! Mine! You are nothing more than my puppet!”_

Puppet. That was what Hojo called him, and it was what he was to that other monster. Sephiroth heard her. Every night. Thanks to Cloud, he knew what she truly was; Jenova. A parasite that infected the lifestream and every soul that came in contact with it. She sang to him a terrible lullaby of death and destruction. She called him son, and Sephiroth was getting so tired of it. Jenova was not his mother.

His cell door opened. It was President Shinra accompanied by several Turks. “Sephiroth! My First SOLDIER! I heard from Hojo about that unfortunate little incident in the lab!”

Sephiroth raised a brow. “Like how I tried to lop off his head after he kept poking me in the wrong spot with a needle?”

President Shinra seemed to laugh this attempted murder off. “Well, who hasn't thought about it, hmm? I know, I have. The good professor can be quite uppity at times so I don't blame you. That little stunt at Fort Mori however...”

Sephiroth stared at President Shinra, not budging an inch. “When I let a bunch of Omegas in heat go because I didn't want my Alpha troopers to rape them? Or how I beat Heidegger to a pulp?”

President Shinra almost bared his teeth but kept himself in check. “I know as a fellow Alpha, sometimes the urge to knock the other guy's teeth out can be a bit tempting. Especially after you single handedly took one of Wutai's forts!”

Sephiroth crossed his arms. “Heidegger was pissed I let a bunch of Omega women and their children go. He said he wanted his share of the Omegas to knot for himself. So I punched him. I've seen animals better trained than him.”

President Shinra seemed to take this act of 'insubordination' and 'assault on a superior officer' rather lightly. He even seemed rather chipper. “Well, I had a little chat with him about learning some manners, especially after it made news that you acted so _heroically_ toward the enemy's civilians. Showing mercy to Wutai's Omegas and their children, why the public is eating it up! You have a fan club now! My new SOLDIER Program has a new motto of; 'Fight with honor and Protect your dreams!' Everyone loves it! So I'm willing to let it all slide.”

This was rather a surprising turn of events. “So why am I stuck in here if I'm a hero?”

President Shinra snapped his fingers, a Turk opened a briefcase. “You're not. You're going on Shore Leave to Gold Saucer. Here's fifty thousand gil, a little pocket change to spend on your week off. Relax, enjoy yourself, and most importantly, have a little fun!”

“Will Angeal and Genesis be accompanying me?”

“No can do. Need those two on the front with you in here. Since Heidegger is out of commission, they will be promoted to General, as will you since you so valiantly volunteered to take on the responsibility of my army's behavior.”

Sephiroth scowled, and President Shinra smiled. “Rest assured, _General_ Sephiroth, the three of you will be getting some downtime if you can keep giving us ground in Wutai. For now, you'll be getting a little vacation for yourself before I send you back out there again with your shiny new promotion.”

Sephiroth was getting a vacation and a promotion all at once. He disobeyed Heidegger's orders to take the Omegas and children as prisoners from Wutai's Southern Fort and instead knocked his teeth out and let the Omegas go. He tried to murder the head of the Research Department. His punishment for all of this was to go to an amusement park and have fun. All because the public approved of his actions? It made no sense to be rewarded for his open rebellion, but he would count himself lucky. “Very well, President. I shall report to Gold Saucer to... _have fun_.”

Sephiroth said the last two words as if he were ordered to drink venom. President Shinra slapped him on the back, ignoring the annoyed wince in Sephiroth's countenance. “Good, good! Can't have the people's hero spend his shore leave in this dreary place, now can I?”

Ah. The pieces finally clicked in place for Sephiroth. To avoid public outrage and seed revolts, Sephiroth had to be rewarded, not punished. Sephiroth's honorable actions improved Shinra's image. The irony was not lost on Sephiroth that his actions to hinder Shinra have instead helped them. Sephiroth wished, and not for the first time, that he could speak to Cloud and get his advice.

* * *

Gold Saucer was as loud and obnoxious as Cloud and Vincent remembered it to be, albeit with some areas still under construction. Decorations of neon snowflakes, fake holly, and plastic snowmen for Yule were everywhere. It was Gold Saucer as they remembered but milking the festive winter holiday for every gil it was worth. There was even a line for kids to see Santa.

Vincent had handed over their gil and reserved a room in the Ghost Inn. While Cloud and Vincent were wincing at the assault to their enhanced senses, Claudia Strife, was gasping in delight at the neon lights and flashy music. “Oh my! Vincent this was such a wonderful idea! I had heard they had opened this up months ago and I had wanted to check it out, but without an Alpha as an escort it simply wasn't feasible.”

Cloud patted Momotaro, the chocobo he intended to race. He was younger than their black, and didn't have a possible abusive owner looking for him. “I want to get Momotaro here checked in for the races.”

His mother giggled. “It's so wonderful to see how outgoing you've been, I suppose Vincent is one I should thank.”

Vincent shrugged. “Cloud has a natural talent with chocobos... Are you sure you are okay with letting Cloud race?”

“Why not? Cloud is a natural on Momotaro's back and I'll be proud to see him race, even if he doesn't get first place.”

Cloud grimaced. “I have to win, Mom.”

Claudia was puzzled, looking at the serious faces of her son and Vincent. “Is there something you two aren't telling me?”

Vincent and Cloud shared a look, and Vincent decided, “We tell you in the hotel room. We must first get our chocobos boarded and Cloud registered for the race.”

Claudia let it go for now, and the three of them went to the racing square where the stables and registration was. Getting their Chocobos stabled was easy enough but there were a line of people all wanting to enter the race, and the majority of them were Omegas and Beta women. Claudia raised a brow at the sight. “I didn't know so many people would want to enter!”

Cloud grumbled, “How am I supposed to meet Sephiroth if I can't even get a spot in the race?!”

Vincent was equally unhappy. “This could be a problem, but we may find a work around...”

Claudia grinned, as she finally figured out one mystery. Posters of the prize in the Gold Saucer Cup displayed the face of a man who had been in the news for months. A young Alpha SOLDIER named Sephiroth would be shaking hands with the winner of the cup. He was handsome enough to summon an army of Omega women and men to compete just for the chance to be close to him. “Cloud? Is this what this is about? I had no idea that you had a little crush! Oh they do grow up so fast... I suppose its only natural, Sephiroth is quite a handsome young Alpha.”

Cloud turned several shades of pink. “Mom! It's not like that! I-I mean, sure he's heroic and kinda nice, and he is good looking... I'll shut up now.”

Vincent raised a brow at Cloud and had a slight smile on his lips. “Good looking? I suppose I'll have to let him know that if I get the chance to talk to him.”

Cloud froze. “You wouldn't dare!”

Claudia couldn't help but tease her son. “My little baby has his first crush!”

Cloud rolled his eyes, and nudged them. “Hey, were up!”

An exhausted man in cowboy hat sighed and looked at Vincent with relief. “Oh thank god, an Alpha. Please tell me you're not a Sephiroth fan that brought in some random Chocobo to race?”

Vincent raised a brow. “I am an Alpha, but it is Cloud Strife here who will race, and it will not be a random chocobo but one we trained for months.”

The man at the desk looked at Claudia and sighed. “Oh. Her. Okay, for Miss Cloud to qualify for the S-Race you have-”

Claudia cut him off. “Oh no! Not me! My son will be racing. _His_ name is Cloud Strife.”

The man at the desk leaned over to spot on surly looking kid glaring at him. The guy laughed his ass off. “You're kidding me? This kid?! The races are for adults.”

Cloud snarled. “'This kid' can wipe the floor with you. If I have to fight someone to race, I will. My chocobo is in Stable 7, the Wonderful grade male that's sharing a stall with my family's black female.”

The guy still laughed, but after wiping his eyes he chortled out, “Ha! Okay kid, since your parents here are with you, they can sign you up. I'm only letting you in because at least seeing a little kid race will brake up the monotony of hormone-driven Omegas come to drool over Sephiroth. We've got one spot left for the qualifying race for the S-Cup. The first seven that cross the finishing line, get to race in the S-Cup with our returning champion. Good luck, kid!”

A loud thud of a stamp and the guy behind the desk handed them the papers. As soon as Claudia and Vincent signed off and handed them back, the guy threw a ticket at them and closed the window, announcing the sign up for the qualifying race was closed. Claudia sighed, “Well that's a relief! You got the last spot, Cloud!”

Vincent eyed the crowd of angry women and men behind them, most of them with Sephiroth fan club memorabilia on. “Let's go to our hotel room... There is something you should know, Claudia.”

Claudia nodded and together made a hasty retreat. The Ghost Square where the Gold Saucer's inn was not much different from what Cloud remembered it would be in the future. Except perhaps newer. Vincent carried their luggage up to their room with ease and Claudia checked them in. Cloud flopped on one of the two beds that came with the room. “Ugh. This is going to be a pain.”

Vincent looked out of the window, which had a good view of the Gold Saucer's gondola. “There is an alternative. Sephiroth will be staying in a VIP suite somewhere in the hotel.”

Cloud sat upright. “Sneak into his room?”

Claudia chose that moment to enter the room. She looked concerned. “Sneak where? You two aren't up to something, are you?”

Vincent closed their room door and invited her to sit. “As promised, I will tell you my true purpose for being here and entering Cloud into the race.”

Claudia sat down. “You two are desperate to meet Sephiroth... You in particular, Vincent.”

Vincent nodding, taking out a poster with Sephiroth's face on it. “He is Lucretia's son.”

Claudia gasped. “He is?! Then that means...”

“He is my son as well. Yes.”

Vincent confirmed. “As soon as he was born, he was taken away by Hojo and the rest of Shinra. He was raised from birth to be their weapon. Hojo would not let Lucretia see him once, and turned her away multiple times. Finally, she then committed suicide. During all this, I was imprisoned in Hojo's lab... I was experimented on.”

Vincent took off his cloak, his black shirt and was undoing the clasps that kept his brass gauntlet on. Even Cloud had not seen his friend show this much skin. He could why. Over the taut muscles, was skin littered with small surgical scars, and his left arm... It wasn't human. It ended in demonic scales and long talons made for shredding through flesh.

Cloud swallowed, feeling an echo of the memories of the scars his body used to carry from his time with Hojo. “I'm sorry, Vincent. I never knew how bad the damage was.”

Claudia was in tears. “Oh Vincent! You poor man! I had no idea! All this time, I just thought that brass thing was a prothetic...”

Vincent sighed. “No, the brass gauntlet is just for cosmetic purposes. The claws make it impossible to cover it with simple gloves.”

Cloud knew his mother was kind, she smiled at Vincent and told him, “You don't need to cover it around us. You're a part of this family, and Cloud and I still love you... I sincerely hope that Sephiroth will accept you as a father. I'd be happy to have him in our home, the poor young man probably doesn't get many home-cooked meals.”

Vincent smiled a little. “I am grateful, Claudia.”

Claudia's smile grew as she looked at her son. “How old is your son, Vincent? He must be what, seventeen?”

“Sixteen actually.”

Claudia giggled. “Only a six year difference then. Won't matter much in ten years.”

Cloud raised his brows. “What are you talking about, Mom?”

Vincent was curious too. “Claudia, are you hoping to play match maker with your son, and mine?”

Claudia looked caught red-handed. “Of course not! But if such a thing were to happen naturally... It would be nice to have grandkids.”

Cloud blushed. “Mom! Sephiroth is practically my step-brother!”

“Nonsense Cloud. Vincent is our Alpha Guardian, not my mate. There's a distinct legal difference.”

Vincent took his mother's side on this one. “That is true. I haven't mated your mother, I only guard her during her heat. That makes you and her my wards in the legal sense. At least until either of you find mates.”

Cloud turned even redder. Last month when his mother was bedridden he pretended that she only had the flu. He ignored the sweet, rich scent of honey and wildflowers that the entire house was drowning in. His mother in bed, clutching desperately to Vincent's lap, moaning and wanting. Cloud was so grateful that his friend remained fully clothed during the glances he got while delivering food to his mother. Cloud still refused to acknowledge that would be him in few years. He prayed he wouldn't suffer through that. Cloud shuddered. “No thanks. I don't want to get a Heat. Ever.”

His mother gave him that sad, bittersweet smile. “Oh Cloud... Nature isn't something you can fight. You can only delay it, just make sure you find an Alpha you can trust to take care of you when you're vulnerable. If you're lucky, you'll find one you'll be happy to share your Heats with.”

Cloud shook his head. “None of that crap, no way! Not for me!”

Vincent said nothing, but Cloud could tell by the way he was staring at him. Vincent thought this would be a losing battle. For the first time, Cloud was truly giving thought about what his gender in this fucked up world meant to Sephiroth. A icy dagger of fear of Sephiroth, the Calamity's Son that haunted his memories, using this against him. After all, Sephiroth was an Alpha. As an Omega, that meant Cloud would be weak against him, right?

* * *

Sephiroth sighed as he rubbed his temples, trying to bring some relief to the growing headache he was getting in this noisy, obnoxious place. Gold Saucer was as tacky and loud as he had feared. Forget the monster and ninja riddled forests of Wutai, Gold Saucer was worse. At least in Wutai he could find some peace and quiet. Instead he was in the vip box of the chocobo races being dangled up as a prize. “Why did I even leave my hotel room?”

His Turk escort looked to be having as much fun as he did. “Commander Sephiroth, can I get you anything?”

“Yes, you can get me out of here.” Sephiroth stated flatly.

The Turk looked at least somewhat sympathetic. “Sorry sir. President Shinra ordered to have you make an appearance to the public, shake hands with the winner, and have a few pictures taken.”

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. “At least they don't want my hand in marriage.”

“Yes sir, just a quick handshake, a congratulations, a photo-op and you can leave.”

Sephiroth sighed, grateful for that small mercy. The racers were mostly Omegas that were racing just get a little sniff of him, and this one small child that somehow made it in. He hoped the winner was Joe, last year's champ racing on the black or the kid riding a bird he named Momotaro. A Wutainese name that meant Peach Boy. He hoped the kid wasn't one of those Wutai sympathizers that want the chance to insult him to his face.

Sure enough, Momotaro was the winning bird. Sephiroth sighed once again, his hopes dwindled but not gone. As he stood at the podium to wait for the winner to come up he reminded himself that at least the kid wouldn't ask for his number. The rider was small, a ten year old boy from what he heard. He had an unflattering picture of what snot nosed brat whose grimy hands he had shake.

At least that was what he thought until the rider removed his helmet. Gold hair that stuck out everywhere and those sky-blue eyes shone as brightly as the surrounding neon lights. Eyes he would know anywhere. Eyes that looked into him, knowing. It was Cloud, but it couldn't be. Sephiroth turned to his babysitter. “What's that racer's name?”

The Turk flipped through the program. “Uh, Momotaro's rider? I think it's Cloud Strife. I think his parents signed him up... Ah, there they are with the winner.”

Sephiroth's gaze drifted to two adults behind Cloud, a woman that greatly resembled Cloud and his heart skipped a beat at the familiar man behind Cloud. The man's face was burned into his memory, hours studying an old picture of the Turk believed dead. Vincent Valentine, his father. Cloud came up to the podium, brushing a stray hair behind his ear. It was on purpose. It gave Sephiroth a perfect view of the Fenrir earring that matched the one in his own ear. Sephiroth's heart pounded. It _was_ him. It was Cloud! He couldn't keep the smile that burst from the bottom of his heart to his lips. “Cloud? Is it really you?”

Cloud smiled. Trepidation vanished from his face, and a smile as giddy as the one Sephiroth had appeared. “Sephiroth! You remember me.”

Sephiroth eagerly grabbed Cloud's hand, now regretting wearing gloves or thinking that Cloud had grimy hands. “I never forgot you, my friend.”

Cloud's gaze drifted toward the Turk hanging around Sephiroth. “We'll have to catch up later.”

Sephiroth glanced briefly at the now very curious Turk beside him. “Yes Cloud, we will. Congratulations on winning the race.”

Sephiroth's gaze drifted up to his father, their eyes locking briefly. His father held out his hand. “It is good to meet you. Cloud is a fan of yours and speaks of you fondly.”

Sephiroth saw his father's eyes travel to the Turk babysitter beside him. When he shook his father's hand he felt a Hotel key card press against his palm. Sephiroth nodded getting the message loud and clear: lose the babysitter and meet them in private. “Yes, it good to meet you as well. You must be proud of him.”

Vincent's gaze was intent, never breaking off from Sephiroth's. “Yes, I'm very proud of _my son_.”

Sephiroth caught the emphasis on those last two words, knowing that they were meant for him and him alone. It was painful to see them ushered off the stage as soon as the photos were taken. He caught his father and Cloud glancing back at them, and Sephiroth gaze back at them with equal longing. Then his babysitter had to ruin it. “Sir? Do you know them?”

Sephiroth swallowed his heart. “Only a little. I use to play with that kid in this playground back in Midgar.”

“Ah so just acquaintances then.”

Sephiroth kept his heart locked away. He lied. “Yes. They don't mean much to me.”

Sephiroth turned to his babysitter, his expression icy. “I've had enough of public appearances for the day. I would like to use it to find someplace quiet in this blasted place.”

The Turk nodded. “Yes, sir. I will escort you back to your room.”

Sephiroth hated having a Turk babysitter, and plotted to lose him at the hotel. It would be easy enough. At least he hoped. He refused to have Shinra's prying eyes in on his most private affairs with his family.

* * *

At the hotel, Sephiroth spotted a dark figure in red standing at one of the windows on the second story floor. Vincent Valentine, his father, locked eyes with him briefly before vanishing in a flash of thunder and lightning. The constant dark and dreary atmosphere of this “haunted” inn would serve him well for sneaking around.

Sephiroth walked ahead, eager to retreat to his quiet penthouse suit. It was a palatial room, designed with a king in mind with purples, golds, all the flashy wealth pulled back by the dark wooden décor that cast the place in shadows. Sephiroth half expected for a vampire to emerge from the shadows, and half hoped that said vampire would be his own father. Sephiroth turned to his Turk babysitter. “Leave, do what you want in this 'amusement park'. I'm going to try to rest and I cannot do that with you breathing down my neck.”

The Turk scowled and scuttled off. Sephiroth shut the door and locked it with a loud click. Sephiroth's enhanced hearing heard his babysitter muttering down the hall, “Geez, why'd Veld stick me with that prima donna? Ugh, teenagers...”

Like all teenagers, Sephiroth stuffed the bed with objects to make it appear that he was in it, and prepared himself to climb down the balcony to freedom and his father. For a normal human it would be risky and near impossible, but Sephiroth knew his limits. A shadow flickered from the corner of his eye, hair rose on the back of his neck. Someone was behind him. Could it be?

Just as Sephiroth had hoped, there appeared in shadows with the lightning and thunder behind him, was none other than Vincent Valentine. Sephiroth barely breathed. “Father?”

Vincent approached with an inhuman grace so familiar to Sephiroth's own. Vincent stared at Sephiroth with an expression that could only be longing. “My son... I had hoped you remembered me.”

Sephiroth closed the gap, throwing his arms around his father. He buried his nose in his neck, inhaling a scent so much like his own, like cardamom and Wutai's Northern forests in the dead of winter. Sharp, dangerous, but familiar and oddly comforting. It wasn't a dream. His father was really here. “Of course, Father. I could never forget you, or Cloud.”

Vincent was thrown off-guard. A boy, nearly a man and somewhere in between, seeking him for comfort. His heart so wracked with grief and guilt he almost dared not take joy in this. Almost. A moment of hesitation, uncertainty, and shock had passed. He crumpled, pulling Sephiroth, his son, tightly against him and he refused to let go. Never again. Hojo would not take this from him. Sephiroth was _his son_ now. His blood flowed through his son's veins, no matter the method of his conception, Sephiroth was _his_. “My son...”

Time was a cruel master. It waited for no one. The chime of a grandfather clock on the wall warned them of its passing. This reunion of father and son was brief, but no less a joyous one. Sephiroth had so many questions for his father. “Cloud! I need to know, is he okay?”

Vincent nodded. “He is in our room. I saw you upon your balcony and took the opportunity to come see you. Let us hurry before your babysitter is aware of me.”

Sephiroth nodded, closing the balcony door behind him and followed his father's footsteps. With inhuman grace and celerity, Sephiroth watched his father hop from his balcony and swing to the right window ledge. Crouching outside the window like a cat, he pushed the window open, and climbed inside. Sephiroth followed suit, finding excitement in this game of tag that challenged his dexterity.

As soon as Sephiroth caught the ledge, he was met with a most welcoming sight; Cloud's smiling face. “Sephiroth! I had expected you to use the door.”

Sephiroth climbed in with a smile. “My Turk babysitter was in the hallway so I followed him out the backdoor.”

Vincent looked out the window and asked his son, “Did you leave a decoy in your bed and close the balcony doors behind you?”

“I did.”

Vincent nodded with approval, “Good.”

Sephiroth took in the sight of Cloud, he was overjoyed to see him, to know that this kid in front of him really was his friend he had made once upon a dream. Questions he had been holding back burst out like a low budget dam. “Cloud, I'm happy to see you but... You look different. Mainly smaller and younger.”

Cloud had a tint of pink coloring his cheeks. “Yeah, I was as surprised as you were. Vincent did say that something had happened and... Well, here it is. I'm ten years old. Again... At least I think. I mean, I thought I traveled through time, but I've been noticing these little differences that make me think I'm in a different universe completely... It's really confusing.”

His diminutive, child form was, Sephiroth had to admit, adorable. He didn't care how Cloud returned to him, only that he had returned at all. “At least you are more portable, and you won't take up much room... Like that cute little chocobo plush I once had.”

Cloud's cheeks turned an even prettier pink, proving Sephiroth's point. “I can still kick your ass... Maybe.”

Sephiroth couldn't help but grin and poke Cloud. He really was adorable. Even more so when he was angry. “As much as I love this toy sized version of you, it does not answer my question of how you are like this and what happened after my father had to retrieve your spirit.”

Sephiroth looked pointedly at Vincent, who glanced at Cloud before answering, “I... may have my own theory.”

Cloud looked up at Vincent. “Do share.”

“...”

Vincent didn't like to talk. He was a silent man by nature. Sephiroth sat down on a bed, making it clear that he wouldn't be budging an inch. “By all means. Lets hear it. For the past eight months, I thought my first and most important friend and my father had disappeared into the lifestream... Leaving me with nothing but fond memories.”

Vincent sat down. “It was before I woke from my self-imposed slumber in Shinra Manor's basement... Chaos, one the planet's weapons, that resides within me took over. He heard the planet calling to him and answered.”

Sephiroth was familiar with Chaos. “Chaos... I read my mother's research papers on Chaos and OMEGA. They are the planet's weapons of last resort. Supposedly if something put the planet in danger, it would have Chaos take all life into the lifestream for Omega to fly off into the cosmos to find another suitable planet to inhabit.”

Vincent nodded. “It was my father's theory as well, your grandfather I suppose... While Chaos was in control, I dove into a mako spring. That was when visions, dreams, memories where shoved into my head. Memories of a future that can never be, because they were of another world. I think perhaps the lifestream gave me, and perhaps Cloud as well, these memories to better protect it.”

“Makes about as much sense as everything else in this crazy, messed up world.” Cloud huffed. “Seriously... In the world I remember, men couldn't get pregnant, nor did people grow fangs like damned vampires.”

Sephiroth poked his lips self-consciously, his own Alpha fangs peeking out. “Are you put off by these?”

Cloud flinched, realizing what he said. “Sorry... The fangs work for you and Vincent. I guess I'm just uncomfortable with the whole biting necks thing.”

Sephiroth grinned showing off his fangs. “You won't have to worry about claiming bites unless you were an Omega.”

Vincent quickly shifted the conversation. “There is another thing I should mention... While in the lifestream, I heard the planet's voice.”

Cloud's spine straightened as a shudder ran up his body. “I did too... It called me OMEGA Weapon. Reshaped and repurposed, a surgeon to cut away diseased flesh. That's what it told me.”

“I suspected as much...” Vincent commented. “Chaos called you OMEGA Weapon, the great guardian of the lifestream that it must serve.”

Sephiroth stared at Cloud. “A weapon of the planet? Is this in response to the threat Jenova poses?”

Cloud nodded. “I think... I mean, my mana and magic abilities are far higher than they used to be. My body is still enhanced, but I'll have to grow into it the old fashioned way. Complete with going through puberty, all over again.”

Sephiroth stared, mulling something over. “If the planet molded you into something that can destroy Jenova... Perhaps you can help me?”

Cloud whipped around, on high alert. “Jenova?! Is she trying to control you?! You mustn't listen to her!”

“Hey, I know! I just keep getting nightmares with her in them and these headaches. I keep seeing fire, and a meteor heading toward the planet... It's awful. I can hear her every night singing, calling out to me. Thanks to you, I know she isn't my mother.”

Cloud relaxed somewhat. “That's actually a good sign. It means your brain is trying to fight off her influence... I've seen it before.”

Vincent had as well. “Lucretia, your mother, had the same problem. She had similar visions of destruction while pregnant with you. She told me that it was a reaction to the Jenova cells in her body through you.”

Sephiroth did not find this comforting. “And what if my body was not fighting back?”

Cloud shuddered. “Then you would believe everything is fine. Jenova will plant ideas into your head without you ever being aware. You find yourself forgetting things, getting blackouts, and most telling of all... insanity, and megalomania.”

Sephiroth thought of Angeal and Genesis. “My two teammates, Angeal and Genesis, they have Jenova cells. Do I need to worry about them?”

Vincent and Cloud shared a look, and finally it was Vincent who decided to answer. “Yes. You do. The one of the side effects is physical degradation. Jenova cells can degrade the body slowly while giving it enhanced strength at the cost of the body's lifespan. The mind will degrade along side it. There are exceptions. In some, like yourself and your mother, the body gains a twisted immortality. You will not be able to die, because the lifestream will violently reject you, keeping you alive as a result.”

Sephiroth slumped forward with his head in his hands. “This... cannot be.”

Cloud's small hand rested on his shoulder, bringing him to a kinder reality; Cloud was here, and may have an answer. “Sephiroth... I'm not sure how, but I want to fix this. I mean, the planet may have brought me here, or my spirit at least, to fix this. Gaea doesn't want Jenova in the lifeforms that call her home.”

“There is hope...” Vincent started. “The planet may have turned Cloud and I into weapons designed to combat Jenova, much like white blood cells to fight a virus... Or at least Cloud is. Chaos was designed to send creatures to the lifestream, and serve the OMEGA Weapon as a harbinger or a guardian.”

Sephiroth sat up, hopeful by this piece of news. “Cloud is like... a vaccine?”

“Sounds plausible.” Cloud mused. “I mean, that's probably why me and Vincent still have our memories of fighting Jenova and Shinra in that other world. Vaccines are basically strategy guides for viruses. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to heal people who've been injected with Jenova cells, but I've got lots of experience fighting them.”

Cloud held up the Mystile he had on his arm with a mastered Healing materia. “Could it be as simple as this?”

Sephiroth stared. “It couldn't hurt to try. I get nightmares every night, if it works they'll stop, right?”

Vincent found no fault. “It sounds reasonable enough.”

Cloud patted the bed he and Sephiroth were on. “Lie down. I'm not sure if anything will happen, but let's give it a try.”

Sephiroth laid back with Cloud's small hands on his head. “Very well. I'm ready for Jenova to be cast out from me.”

Cloud nodded. “Let's begin.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: A rigged minigame in which someone learns not to fuck with a scary father trying to win the big chocobo plush for his equally scary son. And also the iconic Gondola ride with Sephiroth and Cloud. See you guys next time and Happy Vincent's Last Name Day!


	5. Gold Saucer Date With Sephiroth Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised here is the other part of the Gold Saucer Date! I had it mostly finished, which was good because I fucked up my back moving furniture and freeing my car of ice and snow. Which is why the next chapter will be late. Fortunately this one won't end on any cliffhangers, and it went on for a lot longer than I intended. Like this chapter is an 11,000 word monster, so take your time. It's a long one.

Chapter Five

Gold Saucer Date With Sephiroth

Part 2

The moment Cloud had touch Sephiroth's skin, he felt his skin crawl and the planet's voice thrumming in his head like an engine. _Infection. Corruption. Calamity._ Over and over, and he felt his own mana pulse and rise from within him, instinctively lashing out to attack. Sephiroth gripped the bed sheets, gasping and screaming.

A single black wing ripped from Sephiroth's back, spreading feathers around the room like falling ash. Cloud saw something in his eyes shift and change as Sephiroth stared hatefully at him. It was the same Sephiroth in his memories, but no. It wasn't Sephiroth, it was Jenova's presence within him. The Calamity's Son, the Nightmare himself reared his head, refusing to die. Sephiroth, possessed by Jenova, breathed out, his words so sharp and venomous toward Cloud, “I will _never_ be just a memory!”

Cloud held on, and Vincent dove onto the bed, helping Cloud hold him down. The black wing pushed a lamp on the floor. Cloud bit back, “Yes, you will! Sephiroth isn't yours anymore!”

Cloud poured in his mana into Sephiroth's body, like water dousing the blaze. Every pore, every cell, washed and cleansed of Jenova's taint. Sephiroth thrashed and screamed as Jenova's cells were being burned away. Sephiroth's single black wing was burning with green fire, disintegrating into harmless mako. Then Cloud felt it. Like the strings of a puppet being snapped. With Jenova's claws no longer in him, Sephiroth collapsed.

Cloud and Vincent looked at one another, and Vincent rested his good hand on his son's forehead. “I think he has a small fever.”

Cloud winced. “Ridding his body of Jenova has its price.”

“Do you know when your mother will return?”

Cloud shrugged. “She went to check out this hotel's spa... Oh! I think I hear her now.”

Sure enough the click and beep of the hotel door's lock sounded and Claudia Strife chose that moment to come in. She smiled as she greeted them, “Hello boys! The spa they have is for their richer guests, but anyone can use the pool out in the– What on Gaea happened here?! Is that Commander Sephiroth?! Oh my! What is he doing here?!”

Vincent gave her a half-truth. “My son came down to see us, but he has exerted himself and is running a small fever. Most likely from a parasite in his system.”

Cloud caught on quickly. “Yeah, the food they serve in the army is iffy. He uh... knocked this lamp over when he was getting these bad stomach cramps.”

Claudia's mothering instincts took over and shooed them away. She checked Sephiroth's temperature and pulse. “Oh the poor little thing! I'll have him right as rain! Get me a hand towel from the bathroom and soak it in cold water. And someone go find me some chicken noodle soup, some ginger ale and some medicine.”

The moment the cold wet compress was laid on Sephiroth's forehead, he stirred. His eyes were glazed over and looked generally miserable. He saw Claudia, and asked, “Who are you? Cloud?”

Cloud leaned over, waving his hand. “Right here. Haven't left. Sephiroth, this is my mother, Claudia Strife.”

Sephiroth studied the woman with new interest. “Ah, yes the woman with you at the race. I remember her face.”

Claudia smiled warmly, doting on Sephiroth as she does her own son. “Your father, Vincent, has left a moment ago to get you some soup, ginger ale and medicine. Don't worry, Cloud and I will be nursing you back to health.”

Sephiroth relaxed. “I have never felt so tired... Not unless I was drugged.”

Cloud crawled into the bed next to him and let Sephiroth curl up to him. “I know you probably feel like shi- I mean poop, but you'll get better.”

Cloud glanced at his mother who looked warily back at him for almost swearing in front of a guest. She smirked, “Nice save, my little Raincloud.”

Sephiroth smiled weakly, his eyes glinting at the nickname. “I knew it! You are a Raincloud, aren't you?”

Cloud blushed. “Stop laughing!”

Sephiroth laughed and rolled over, swinging an arm around Cloud to pull him closer to him. Even sick, Sephiroth never failed to bother him in one way or another. “Never.”

Cloud squawked as he was suddenly being used as a teddy bear by a teenage version of his nemesis. “Mom! A little help? He's trying to cuddle with me!”

His mother giggled. “It's so nice that you've made such a wonderful friend, Cloud. Take good care of Sephiroth, he's under the weather and could use the company.”

Sephiroth's grin was evil. “Yeah Cloud, take good care of me.”

His mom cooed at the sight of her son cuddling with a new friend. “How sweet! I'm going to go change this towel, I'll be right back.”

With his mother going to the bathroom, Cloud quietly asked, “Hey, is Jenova gone?”

Sephiroth shrugged. “Not sure. I feel different, that's for sure, but I don't know. I feel like the whole Science Department went to town on me though... Ah, you feel nice. I can't recall ever feeling this comfortable.”

Cloud felt like that small fluffy white dog the neighbor's girl had. That poor little dog just reluctantly put up with being hugged and cuddled to within an inch of his life. Sephiroth was more than twice his size and Cloud was stuck in his arms. He couldn't move because he didn't have the heart after seeing how touch starved Sephiroth was. Cloud sighed wearily. “Just call me Pillow-Cloud.”

Sephiroth smiled and closed his eyes. “I think I will. You smell nice...”

Cloud noticed his breathing even and Sephiroth started softly snoring. His mother came back and melted at the sight. “Oh you two look so adorable! That poor boy looks like he hasn't had any sleep in so long. I don't know why Shinra sends out such young boys to the war. No wonder he's sick, not with those horrible MRE's they feed them... Cloud, you wouldn't mind sharing your bed for a little while? Vincent and I can take this one next to you.”

Cloud shook his head. “I don't mind. We were thinking of a sleepover anyway.”

Claudia nodded. “That's good, when he feels better, maybe you two can go play on some of the rides? Or better yet, have Vincent tag along. Gaea knows he probably wants to spend quality time with his son, and it'll be great if you two can become fast friends!”

His mother didn't have to worry about that last part. “We're already friends, Mom.”

Sephiroth fished out a card from his wallet and gave it to Cloud's mother. “Ma'am? You can borrow my VIP pass to the spa while Cloud and I go enjoy the rides.”

Claudia giggled. “Oh, you can call me Claudia! You are so polite! I hope you and Cloud can have fun together and don't be afraid to ask me anything. With Vincent as our Alpha Guardian, I'd like to think of you as family too. I've always wished Cloud could have a sibling.”

Sephiroth was stunned. Cloud was too. In another timeline, Sephiroth murdered his mother, and now his mother was welcoming him to their lives like it was nothing. Then again it was nothing. Those events hadn't happened, and if Cloud had any say he would make sure it wouldn't.

Cloud yawned and his mother was on him like a mother-Chocobo, tucking him and Sephiroth in and fluffing their pillows. Cloud sighed and tried to relax. When he took a deep breath he could make out Sephiroth's scent. It was very masculine, similar to Vincent's. Like cardamom and a forest in winter, but with a hint of Mako, leather and sword polish. Cloud was learning that Alpha pheromones all tended to have the same scent, but had different 'flavors' that varied from person to person. He rather liked Sephiroth's Alpha scent. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep in Sephiroth's arms.

* * *

Sephiroth was dreaming again, this time in a field of flowers under the night sky with green ribbons of light dancing above. He was in his happy place. A Midgar playground surrounded by flowers and life, an impossibility but here it exists. Sitting next to him was Cloud, but he was a man in black, not the boy in a white t-shirt and jeans that he had been reunited with. “Cloud? Are you here? In my dreams?”

Cloud turned, gave him a small smile. “It's been awhile, but yeah, I think so. Not sure why I'm here now and not all the other times...”

Sephiroth had a smirk. “Perhaps its because we're sleeping together?”

Cloud blushed. “Hey! We're not– I mean _I'm not_... Ugh!”

Sephiroth laughed at Cloud's priceless reaction. “I'm not sure what dirty things ran through that blond head of yours, but I meant that I was sharing a bed with you due to the hotel room's limited space.”

Cloud's blushed deepened. “Yeah... Uh, change of subject. Did I do anything to Jenova? I think I felt her scream when I tried to heal you? I'm not sure what happened.”

Sephiroth wasn't sure either. He wished he could see for himself if there was anything left of Jenova. He was struck with an idea. “If Jenova effects the mind, and this is a dream from my mind, maybe we can find scars or traces?”

Cloud stood up. “Yeah, that's not a bad idea.”

They walked around Sephiroth's mental landscape, leaving the metaphorical happy place that was a garden and a playground. Cloud closed his eyes and just focused on what he wanted to find. There. A black starless void beyond the happy place and further out into forbidden gloomy areas in what looked like the Shinra Building in Midgar. “I think I found where Jenova had her claws in your head.”

Sephiroth saw the Shinra Building, looming over them like a giant monolith. “Makes sense. This is definitely not my happy place.”

Cloud walked ahead, Sephiroth following close behind him. The lobby doors of the mental Shinra HQ opened up instead to the basement of Shinra Manor where Jenova hung in a tank like a perverse shrine to a false goddess. Books on the floor, tables of glass petri dishes overturned and shattered. Jenova's tank busted open with her body being taken over by flowers and vines. Their roots digging into her corpse and slowly consuming her. Cloud saw Sephiroth shrink and hold his head in his hands. “Sephiroth? You okay?”

Sephiroth shook his head. “No. It hurts... I hate this place. It was the first 'home' I remember. Hojo kept me here until moving to Midgar. My first memory is this lab where I was poked and prodded by Hojo. I was never sure if this place existed outside my head.”

Cloud gulped. “It does. This is the basement in Shinra Manor out in Nibelheim.”

“Oh.”

This was Sephiroth's earliest memories, and it was here that Jenova implanted her cancerous tumor. Years later, coming back to this place would have triggered Sephiroth, destroyed all the remnants of his mind that Jenova hadn't corrupted. The man Sephiroth would've died, and the Calamity Sephiroth would rise to destroy the world. Cloud would not let that happen. “Jenova will not have you, and Shinra Manor is on my list of things that I'm demolishing.”

Cloud cast Heal again, the flowers and vines burst and spread. Jenova's body completely consumed by the plants and only her bones remained. The painful place was being ripped apart and invaded by nature. Walls crumbled and a hole opened up to a blue sky. Natural mako from the lifestream bubbled up, casting the now overgrown place in a gentle green light. Sephiroth relaxed. “I think I feel better... Lighter even.”

Cloud smiled. “That's good. I'm not sure how, but I think I helped.”

Cold metal tanks where Hojo stored monsters rusted and fell beneath onslaught of nature taking over, covering the place with a carpet of green and floral colors. In the center of the new mako pool, a swirl of colors danced, coalescing in an almost solid shape a materia before turning back into liquid. For a moment it resembled the proto materia Vincent has in his body. When Cloud touched the pool, it rippled forming a shape a giant wolf with white wings, glowing mako green eyes, and the Omega symbol clamped in his jaws. For some reason Cloud felt like that he was looking at a reflection of himself.

Sephiroth was as puzzled as Cloud was at the new inhabitant. “Cloud? What is that?”

Cloud shrugged. “Not sure... I think I made it? Weird...”

Sephiroth reached out to pet the wolf but it disappeared into liquid, falling into the mako pool. It spread, filling up the cracks Jenova left behind, turning the place into something else. “This whole place feels like you for some reason...”

Cloud didn't have an answer. He only knew one person who might, but he wasn't ready to see her yet. It was besides the fact that she was watched around the clock by Turks. “At least Jenova is gone from you. One mystery at a time, yeah?”

Sephiroth smiled. “Yeah... One mystery at a time.”

* * *

Sephiroth woke up to the smell of chicken noodle soup and his father's presence like hair rising on the back of his neck. There was also something warm in his arms. Sephiroth opened his eyes. He was holding Cloud like a teddy bear and Vincent was sitting in a chair next to his bed reading a book. “...You are awake.”

“Father? How long was I out?”

“Three hours.”

Cloud mumbled and moaned and woke up with a big yawn. Sephiroth had to suppress the urge not to squeeze him with a hug for being so adorable. He couldn't suppress the smile on his face though. Cloud blinked. “Did Vincent say we've been asleep for three hours?”

Sephiroth nodded. “He did. I feel much better.”

Vincent closed the book, and got out his chair. He studied Sephiroth. “There is something different about you, my son... I cannot place it, but something has changed.”

Cloud nodded. “I got rid of Jenova. I think she's gone for good from him.”

Vincent sniffed the air. “Hmmm. Appearance is the same, your scent has not changed... Perhaps it is the lack of Jenova's presence?”

Sephiroth stretched and yawned, cracking his back. “Whatever it is, it can wait until after I've had some food. Is that soup I smell?”

“Chicken noodle as ordered by Cloud's mother. She insisted on it.”

Sephiroth picked up the bowl, it was a little bit on the cold side but he's had worse. “Where is Ms Strife?”

“Checking out the spa with the vip access card you gave her. She left a half hour ago. I surmise she'll be occupied for another hour at the least.”

Sephiroth wondered if his Turk babysitter had noticed that he was gone yet, but looking at the clock the evening had just started. “Say, Cloud, long will you be staying in Gold Saucer?”

Cloud glanced at Vincent and shrugged. “Another day? I mean, we don't have a set schedule. Mom rarely gets vacations and she's really wanted to check out this noisy place, like most folk.”

Sephiroth looked down at Cloud and a smile bloomed on his lips. “I have two days left in my 'vacation.' Whatever shall I do with all that time with you here, Cloud? Perhaps we can have ourselves a playdate... or four?”

Cloud blushed at the mention of playdate. Even with the word “Play” in front, it still meant “date”. As in, an outing meant to be romantic in nature, even if Sephiroth's intentions were innocent. This world reminded him everyday that he wasn't some boy, but this strange other gender. Not a girl, but intimately tied to childbirth and sexual pleasure all the same, if not even more so. “Uh... Sephiroth?”

Sephiroth scooted closer, a smile on his lips. He was still a teenager, a kid in Cloud's eyes, but there was still the hint of the powerful man he would become. “Yes Cloud?”

Cloud swallowed, he really should tell him, but it wouldn't be easy. “There's something you should know.”

Sephiroth raised a brow. “Oh?”

“...”

“Cloud? What is it?”

“I'm an Omega.”

Sephiroth blinked, not sure if he heard right. “As in the OMEGA Weapon designed to protect the planet? Or... an Omega in the conventional sense?”

Vincent sighed. “Sephiroth... My son.”

Sephiroth's eyes snapped up to his father, attentively listening and Vincent pointedly stated. “Put your nose to his neck. You should barely be able to make out the scent.”

Sephiroth stared down at Cloud who's face was still pink, and trembling. Whether nervous, embarrassed, or both Sephiroth could not tell. Either way... He was still very cute. He pulled Cloud into his lap like a plush toy, taking full liberty to invade Cloud's personal space and buried his nose into his small neck. Cloud squeaked. “Hey! Stop! What are you- Hee ha ha! That tickles!”

Sephiroth inhaled and there it was. Just barely there, but distinctive. The honey sweet scent of an Omega. He thought he smelled something before when taking that nap with Cloud as his own personal teddy bear, but he assumed it was his mother's scent still on him. Now he could tell. This was Cloud's scent. Cloud, his friend, was an Omega. As Cloud's body matured it would only get stronger.

“Sephiroth?”

Cloud was trembling. Sephiroth did not like seeing Cloud nervous. He held him tighter, trying to reassure him. Cloud, an Omega. An adorable Omega that would no doubt be hunted by evil Alphas like the ones he had seen on the frontlines. The thought made him angry that anyone would try to claim Cloud. “You need not fear, Cloud. I will protect you, and make sure no other Alpha so much as tries to sniff you.”

Cloud's face fell and he glared at him. “I'm not helpless.”

Vincent sighed. “Cloud really isn't helpless, my son.”

Sephiroth still hadn't let go of Cloud. He didn't want to. “But...”

Cloud wiggled. “You can let go of me now, Sephiroth.”

Sephiroth held on, childishly insisting, “I don't want to.”

Cloud grinned getting an idea. “Then we won't be going on any playdates then... Like the Battle Square? Or the Gondala ride? Shoot, I could've won you a nice Chocobo plush.”

Sephiroth resolve crumbled. “Like the one Hojo took away from me? I still miss that thing.”

Vincent stood up straight, his scent taking a sharp dangerous turn. His eyes piercing, his voice deadly even. “Hojo did _what_?”

Sephiroth let go of Cloud, the scent of his father's Alpha pheromones overwhelming even him took him by surprise. “Hojo took away a chocobo plush Professor Gast had given me. It was the only toy I had and Hojo took it away... I think he had it incinerated. I was seven. I still think of it on nights I have trouble sleeping.”

Vincent went to his luggage, pulling out a red coat, a black cowboy hat and what looked like black temporary hair dye. “Here. You will need a disguise to avoid attention. We have the same build, you should be able to fit in my clothes.”

Sephiroth couldn't help but smile at the idea of going out with his father and Cloud without a mob of people wanting a picture taken with him or an autograph. “Are you going actually going to win me a Chocobo plush, father?”

Vincent with absolute seriousness said, “Yes. We are going to the Battle Square to win you a new chocobo plush and any other prize your heart desires.”

Cloud liked that idea. “Sounds good. The Battle Square has this belt I've been wanting to get my hands on. I have some ideas to mod it.”

Sephiroth suddenly wanted to win that belt for Cloud. It was an overwhelming desire to prove his strength to him. Sephiroth took the offered clothes and hair dye spray from his father. When his looked in a mirror, the resemblance between him and his father was startling. Cloud was flabbergasted. “Wow! That is spooky! If it weren't for the eyes you could pass for brothers, maybe not twins but pretty damn close.”

Vincent shook his head, “His mouth is more his mothers...”

Sephiroth combed out his dyed black hair, letting it down and noticed a can of temporary silver hair dye and a Shinra SOLDIER uniform identical to his. “Father? What is this for?”

Vincent cocked his head, as if he thought the answer was obvious. “We share similar features, with the right clothes and hair color, I could pass for you at a distance...”

Cloud noticed the resemblance. “You two even smell the same. It's why Vincent thought disguising himself as you would make a good plan b to see you if I didn't win the race.”

“Ah.” Sephiroth filed away that interesting bit of information for another time. His father could pass for him with the right hair dye, the right clothes and green eye contacts. Similar build, similar scents, similar voices. Sephiroth wondered if his father could fool even his troops if it ever became necessary?

* * *

The chocobo plush high up on the prize wall was glorious. It was a soft fluffy yellow with bright blue eyes, and as big as Cloud. It even looked a bit like Cloud. Sephiroth wanted it. For years Hojo kept him from indulging in his childish urges. Urges like playing with toys or having fun with friends. Now he was in an amusement park with his true father and his best friend and no one in the crowd recognized him. He really was having... dare he say it? Fun. “My son... Will that one do?”

Sephiroth snapped out of his reverie, and nodded. “It's far larger than the one Professor Gast gave me, but yes. It will more than suffice.”

Cloud was skeptical of the shooting gallery. It was the big prize for it and he was even more skeptical of the skinny red headed man running the place. He emanated the same level of sleaze as a Wallmarket Corneo lackey. He spotted Cloud with a predatory look and addressed Vincent and Sephiroth. “Say fellas! Wanna try your luck in the shooting range? Win a prize for the little guy here?”

Vincent glanced at the giant fluffy chocobo and at Sephiroth gazing at it. “How do I win that?”

The man grinned ear to ear. “You just have to shoot that little Cactuar at the back with and knock it down! One GP for each try and you get three rounds.”

Vincent scoffed at the little toy “guns” they provided. “It looks rigged.”

“I give you my word, sir, that this game is not rigged!”

Vincent looked at Cloud and Sephiroth and then at the chocobo prize on the wall. He put down a coin. “Very well.”

The oily smile was back and he started the game. The Cactuar moved in erratic patterns. Vincent, however was a skilled sniper who could shoot the tick off a Nibel Wolf's back at five hundred yards. He hit the Cactuar dead on with all three of his shots, but it was still up. Vincent glared at the man behind the booth. “Not rigged is it? Your word means nothing.”

Sephiroth bared his fangs, growling at the man. “You filthy liar! My father hit it three times!”

The man was unfazed. “Sorry, but it's still up, so you lose! If you don't like the rules then too bad!”

Vincent narrowed his eyes, slapped down another coin. “I want another shot, but this time I will be using my own gun and I will only need one bullet.”

The man was now sweating bullets. “Now, now! You can't just use your own gun! You have to use the ones I provide!”

Cloud crossed his arms. “I think he just proved that they're shit and you're a dirty fucking cheat.”

The man looked down at Cloud, glaring at him. “My what little potty mouth you have there little boy.”

Cloud glared back, hard. “How about I shove your whole head in a potty if you don't let him take a single shot with his own gun?”

The man snorted. “I can always call security.”

Cloud knew how this man's type worked. They gloat when they think they're going to win. He waved fifty gil at the sleaze bag, real money, not the currency Gold Saucer used. “If you do, you won't be able to squeeze any gil out of us. How about one more chance, double or nothing, but...” Cloud shot Vincent a wink. “This time, he shoots from much further away.”

Vincent pointed at some benches with decorative trees. “There, behind that bench. No scope. Fifty gil if I lose. That plush if I win.”

The man's greasy smile was back. “Ha! There's no way a human can make that shot! Your dear ol' dad's going to hand me the easiest gil I've ever made!”

Cloud was confident in Vincent's skill. “Oh. He can make it.”

Sephiroth smirked. He knew his father was not entirely human, but enhanced like he was. “I think this man severely underestimates _Dear Ol' Dad_.”

Vincent walked over to the benches and stood on the platforms in front of a fake tree. When he took out Death Penalty the man's oily smile fell at the sight of a massive handgun no normal human could lift. Vincent raised his voice above the din of the surrounding crowd. “Begin the machine! One shot is all I need to hit your rigged target.”

The man stammered. “H-hey! You said no scope!”

“I never use them.”

Vincent lined up the target with only his eyes, and fired. The tiny Cactuar was disintegrated and the wall behind it had a sizable hole in it. The man blinked and Vincent was only a few inches from his face. The Alpha pheromones he poured out made everyone in the vicinity recoil and submit, even Sephiroth was taken aback. Vincent's red eyes took on an inhuman glow, pupils slitted like a monster's, and the fang's he bared lengthened, ready to rip through flesh. He spoke to the cowering little sleaze bag as if channeling a demon from the lowest pits of Hell. **“The chocobo plush that my child desires. Hand it over. NOW.”**

Cloud and Sephiroth smelled the conman behind the booth piss himself. He yanked the big fluffy yellow chocobo plush down and handed it over with about as much steadiness as jello in an earthquake. Vincent's terrifying transformation reversed, turning back from a beast to a somber man. He handed the fluffy toy as big as Cloud to Sephiroth. “Here, my son. Your prize.”

Sephiroth took his new toy, shocked at what he witnessed. “Thank you, Father... This is wonderful.”

Cloud had witnessed such transformations from his friend in battle, and reassured Sephiroth, “Don't worry, he doesn't actually turn into the Gailan Beast or Chaos unless truly provoked.”

Vincent actually cracked a rare joke. “Or on nights of the full moon.”

Sephiroth blinked several times. “Father, are you some kind of vampire-werewolf?”

Vincent paused. “Not a vampire or a werewolf... More of a demon to be honest.”

Cloud smirked. “Don't let him kid you, he's a demon-vampire-werewolf. The Gailan Beast is like a gigantic white wolf monster. Complete with fur, a tail and howling at the moon.”

Sephiroth seemed to take this new secret well. “I think this actually explains a few things... I did wonder where my mood swings come from. My comrades say I'm like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.”

Vincent glanced downward apologetically. “I am sorry you have inherited my demons.”

Sephiroth hesitated only for a moment before setting his hand on Vincent's shoulders. It was not easy for either of them to show affection. “I am still glad to have you as my father.”

Cloud glanced at the screens all around them flashing advertisements for the various events happening in Gold Saucer. A Team Battle Tournament happening at the Battle Square caught his eye. “Hey, check it out. The three of us can enter together and win me that belt.”

Sephiroth smirked, eager for the chance to fight side by side with both his father, and... His smirk fell. Cloud was his friend. So why did he hesitate? They were friends, it was as simple as that, but somehow the label wasn't enough. As Sephiroth pondered it, he realized that his Father and Cloud had already agreed to go and were waiting for an answer from him. Sephiroth snapped out of it. “Of course. I'm ready.”

* * *

The stadium was packed and the crowd roared, eager for the next fight to begin. This one was going to be a bloodbath, at least that is what the crowd assumed, given that it would be three newbies versus a Midgar Zolom that had been captured. The Announcer cried out, building up the tension. “Aaaaand here it is folks! Our great spectacle tonight! A real live Midgar Zolom captured by Shinra that keep our roads safe, and _you_ entertained! Now who would be crazy enough to go into the ring with this thing you ask?”

The co-commentator clapped her hands, “Why, Team Cerberus! We have a father with his two sons, here to take down this beast! You know what they say folks! A family that slays together, stays together!”

The first Announcer laughed at the three contestants. “Oh! And look! They even brought the baby, along! Let's hope they don't throw out the baby with the bath water, 'cuz this will be a bloodbath!”

“But if they win, they'll be showered with prizes! Let's hope they survive the bloodbath for that prize shower!”

Cloud was slightly annoyed at being called the 'baby' but took it in stride because he was going to win, and most importantly prove to Sephiroth that he wasn't entirely helpless. Vincent glanced at Sephiroth and Cloud, and asked, “How shall we proceed?”

Cloud adjusted the materia on his person, and with an Equipment Materia, one of the back blades from his Fusion Sword appeared. “I can't wield my full blade, but I can still do some damage with this, and support with spells. Sephiroth, will you be the tank, while Vincent snipes from the back?”

Sephiroth nodded, unsheathing Muramasa. “Gladly.”

The Midgar Zolom never stood a chance. It put up a fight, but the three people it went up against danced around it like it was a fun game. All three of them hacked, slashed and shot at it as they pirouette out of the way of each snap of the Zolom's jaws. It was more of a ballet then a battle.

Vincent shot out both the eyes, blinding it. Sephiroth dodged it's fangs with with ease to slice it open like a trout dinner. Then as the dying Midgar Zolom headed toward Cloud, undaunted, he unleashed a barrage of spells at the charging monster. Lightning and Fire exploded together in a mushroom cloud of death. There was indeed a bloodbath. Burned guts, scales and bits of bones fell all over the stadium. The audience was stunned and then erupted in cheers.

Cloud saw the gates open and the announcers came out with their prize the Championship Belt with six linked materia slots. “Did you see that folks! Team Cerberus wins! They _obliterated_ that Zolom! I can't believe it!”

The second announcer grimaced as they stepped in pieces of the Zolom. “Eww! It was a bloodbath alright! I do not envy the work our janitors have out for them! Not one bit!”

“Oh yeah, the real heroes tonight will be our clean up crew!”

”And Team Cerberus' little baby really made quite the mess for them!”

Cloud glared at the announcers, it was slightly more effective when he was covered in the blood and charred intestines of the monster he turned into baked chum. He all but snatched the champion belt that was far too big for him. “I'll be taking that.”

The Announcers recoiled, and gulped. Sephiroth, who was still disguised, looked a little bit more harmless then the so called “Baby” and held his hand up. “Our winners, folks!”

The crowd cheered and Team Cerberus took a bow, with chunks of Zolom falling off Cloud's head as he did so. The Announcers none too subtly pointed out the some private dressing rooms they can hose off in. Vincent, Cloud, and Sephiroth were all introverted people who were more than happy to escape the crowd. Behind closed doors, Sephiroth peeled another chunk of Midgar Zolom flesh off his shoulders with disgust. “That could've been done with a little more elegance, don't you think?”

Cloud smirked. “It's dead isn't it?”

Vincent, who was completely clean of monster guts because he was smart enough to maintain some distance, wrinkled his nose at the other two. “I don't think the hotel will let you two in as you are now.”

Cloud grinned ear to ear. “It was still fun, though! Nothing like a good workout, is there?”

Sephiroth found Cloud still endearing, even when he was covered in the blood and guts of a monster battle. He actually floundered a little when he realize he'd be staring and Cloud had asked him something. “Sorry... I did not seem to catch that.”

Cloud raised a brow. “I said, after we hose off, do you wanna go back or have Vincent play decoy while we hang out a little more?”

Sephiroth looked at Vincent for answers. “Decoy?”

Vincent looked between Cloud and his son. “Your absence will be noted soon. From a distance and in dark lighting I can pass for you... I also assumed you wished to spend time with your... little friend.”

Cloud glared at Vincent. “Was that a joke about my height?”

Vincent cocked his head, genuinely puzzled. “I am still adjusting to fatherhood. Do parents not refer to their son's comrades and partners as their 'little friends?' I have observed your mother doing the same.”

Cloud blinked, sighed and then smiled. “It's kinda weird, Vincent, I mean, technically Sephiroth is the baby here. I'm a twenty-six year old man mentally speaking... Man, this is time-travel-not-time-travel thing is complicated.”

Sephiroth was mildly confused by this revelation of Cloud's age. “Wait, how can you be twenty-six if you are physically and chronologically ten?”

Cloud shrugged. “If I find out, you'll be the first to know... Shit, experiencing puberty again is going to suck.”

Helpful as always, Vincent reminded him, “But in your previous life, you were never an Omega... Their trials of maturing are said to be... a unique hell for them.”

Sephiroth flushed, his face taking on the same crimson hue of his father's coat. “Oh... that's right. Cloud is... an Omega. He will have Heats.”

Cloud ducked his head, his little body held in his rage poorly. “I'm not weak. The guts on the floor from the monster I help you take down should prove that. I may be trapped in a body too young for me and some weird other gender but I'm still the same guy who can defeat you.”

Sephiroth was taken aback. “That's not it at all!”

Vincent looked between them and coughed. “I will play decoy to give you two some time to... discuss things. I suggest the gondola ride for a lengthy and private conversation.”

Cloud and Sephiroth nodded. Sephiroth handed Vincent his prize Chocobo that he won, that he left in their dressing room. “Father, can you take Cloud Jr to my room? I don't want him to get dirty or lose him.”

Vincent nodded, and smiled briefly. “I shall.”

Cloud's rage dissipated, and was replaced with amusement with Sephiroth's new plush Chocobo's name. “Cloud Jr? Really? Should I be honored?”

Sephiroth grinned. “Of course. Cloud Jr is the spitting image of you. His parentage should have little doubt.”

Cloud wasn't sure where to begin with that. “Funny. I don't remember laying an egg.”

Sephiroth peeled another chunk of charred Zolom flesh from Cloud's hair and grimaced. “Let's get ourselves cleaned up, shall we?”

Cloud's smile died. There was a lot they needed to talk about. Least of which was his gender. What nebulous organs Cloud may or may not have between his legs should not take precedent over his plans to overthrow Hojo, Jenova and Shinra with minimal casualties. Not when there was such a big chance it could all go south.

* * *

The gondola had a huge line, and the wait was mostly in silence. Cloud and Sephiroth stood side by side in awkward silence both of them wondering what the other had to say. Cloud for one, still had to put in a lot of effort to remind himself that this Sephiroth was _very_ different from the one that haunted his memories. Cloud for one was so lost in thought that he hadn't realized when they were up. “Oh, is it our turn already?”

Sephiroth nodded and took Cloud's hand. “Head in the clouds?”

Cloud blushed and glanced away, sitting down opposite of Sephiroth. The door closed and they were alone. Both of them had opened their mouths and spoke at the same time.

“We need to talk about taking down Shinra and destroying Jenova.”

“I don't think you're weak for being an Omega, in fact I admire yo–“

Sephiroth and Cloud both blinked and shared identical expressions of bewilderment. The both spoke again at the same time.

“What?”

“What?”

Sephiroth and Cloud both coughed and silently, Sephiroth offered Cloud to go first. Cloud scratched the back of his head. “So. Umm, I wanted to talk about how me and Vincent have been planning to take down Shinra, and destroy Jenova. Umm, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”

Sephiroth actually blushed, looking embarrassed. “My topic seems trivial in comparison. I simply wanted to tell you that I still look up to you, even if it is not in a literal sense. I don't find you weak...” Sephiroth whispered, almost stuttering the last words. “I greatly admire you.”

Cloud blushed. A feeling he hadn't had in years decided to float to the surface from depth from which he thought he tossed it, turned up and made him feel giddy. For lack of a better description. The part of him that worshiped Sephiroth like an idol was reflected back at him from this teenage version of his nemesis. Now no longer. As strange as it was, Sephiroth was now an ally, a friend even. “I-I actually admire you too... I guess that was in another lifetime that I worshipped you like one of those embarrassing fanboys you have now. That past version of me probably would've died from joy at getting to hang out with you like this.”

Sephiroth looked up, hopeful. “Really?”

Cloud in all honesty can say, “Yeah, really.”

Sephiroth smiled, and Cloud was dazzled by the genuine expression of joy he saw on the young man. Sephiroth really was a beautiful man. Cloud had almost forgotten how beautiful Sephiroth could be. How beautiful he really _is_. Cloud coughed. “I uhhh. Oh yeah! Destroying Shinra! Uh, I guess you want in?”

Sephiroth nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I did think about deserting more than once and again when I tried to kill Hojo a few days ago, the bastard laughed at my failed attempt. Said he put some kind of measures in place to keep his own creations from killing him.”

Cloud winced in empathy. “Shit. From what I remember, the bastard's slippery. Not to mention paranoid as Hell. He won't be easy to kill. Neither will Shinra be easy to take down.”

Sephiroth, curious about Cloud's experience, asked, “In that other life you speak of, were you successful?”

Cloud sighed. “It was a Pyrrhic victory. I had started out as a SOLDIER failure, turned lab rat of Hojo's, and then a merc working for Avalanche.”

“Avalanche? Those eco-terrorists?”

“One and the same. We blew up reactors. You wanna know how Old Man Shinra responded after we took out both Reactors One and Five?”

Sephiroth shook his head, but hazarded a guess. “They sent out SOLDIERs like me.”

What Cloud said shook Sephiroth to his core. “No. They collapsed the entire Sector Seven Plate and blamed it on us. Just to squash a little group like us.”

Sephiroth shuddered. “How could they do that? Even if they didn't care about people's lives, the damage would've cost them their bank accounts.”

Cloud sighed. “You still don't get it. Shinra doesn't care about Midgar or any place else. They plan on abandoning Midgar to find the fabled Promised Land and build a Neo-Midgar on top of it.”

Sephiroth had trouble comprehending what he was hearing. “You're telling me, that Shinra is betting everything they have, their resources, their people, their homes, on a _fucking fairy tale_?!”

It was the first time Cloud had ever heard Sephiroth swear. Cloud understood Sephiroth's frustration at dealing with such levels of stupidity. “Bingo. President Shinra is obsessed with the Ancients, or the Cetra as they called themselves. He had Hojo capture one of the last to make her lead them to it. Wanna hear the real kicker?”

Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose. “How can this possibly get worse?”

Cloud thought of Aerith, it still hurt to think of her. “My friend, she... She was the last. She told me what the Promised Land truly was. It exists, but not in the way Shinra thinks it does. The Promised Land is the Lifestream itself. It's how the Ancients refer the act of dying and returning to the planet. Going to the Promised Land. It's a place that's literally only for the dead.”

Sephiroth was livid. He was angry and frustrated at the sheer amount of waste and greed. After he took a deep breath he calmed down somewhat. To see the rage simmering beneath his cold exterior, he started to gain a resemblance to the Calamity's Son from Cloud's memories. “So you're telling me that Shinra is burning their bridges and their own homes for a place they're already sucking dry.”

Cloud sighed, weary and equally as frustrated at Sephiroth. “Yup.”

Sephiroth calmly took another breath. “My next question is how to destroy them. Clearly the strategy you have tried in another lifetime of blowing up reactors won't work. You have any other ideas?”

Cloud shook his head. “Not really. Me and Vincent are still working on that. I mean, we saw for ourselves that people were too used to the convenience of Mako energy that they were reluctant to give it up.”

“Why not present alternatives?”

It seemed the obvious solution. Cloud had considered it. “Yeah, I mean, the World Restoration Organization had replaced the reactors with solar, wind, and hydro, but do those even exist yet?”

Sephiroth wondered too. “It would be nice to have alternatives. Our base in Wutai is pretty much run on Mako batteries that have to be shipped... I think I have an idea.”

Cloud knew where Sephiroth was going with it. “I think I do too. President Shinra is an arrogant man who takes whatever he wants. He usually gets blindsided by obtaining what his current wants that he forgets everything else.”

Sephiroth nodded. “Make him develop some power alternatives to defeat Wutai. He will be so eager to win Wutai that he won't realize that he'll be losing his monopoly on energy production.”

Cloud liked this idea. “Small towns like Nibelheim with old, dodgy reactors will be eager to have power generators that don't make the land around them barren. If the reactors kept going on the fritz, they'll be open to alternatives from just about anyone.”

Sephiroth had an evil smile. “And eventually the reactors will stop being used. A long term plan, but one with the greatest chance of success without resorting to something drastic.”

Cloud knew what that drastic something was. “Like destroying all human life? Yeah, been there... Let's try not to go there and help the planet out before it resorts to releasing the Weapons, plagues and summoning a meteor from space.”

Sephiroth halted. “What?”

Cloud shrugged. “The planet can throw us off its back at any moment. A comforting thought, I know, but let's focus on the current threats. Jenova poses the greatest threat to the lifestream, with Shinra coming at second. Hojo is paranoid and won't be easy to kill, but with him out of the picture, Shinra and Jenova will be easier to take down.”

“So what do you suggest?”

Cloud sighed. “As much as I hate the idea. We'll have to be patient and wait for the right opportunity to come along. In the meantime, you can force Shinra to take up energy alternatives to win the war in Wutai.”

Sephiroth crossed his arms. “And what will you and my father do in the meantime?”

Cloud thought hard on that. “We can at least start on getting Nibelheim to become anti-Shinra and dismantle the reactor. The former won't be hard... The latter will be tricky if they don't have a good alternative. There's also destroying Shinra Manor and the lab under it. That'll be easy since it's dragon mating season and we can blame it on two bulls fighting over a female. Happens all the time.”

The Gondola came to a stop, so preoccupied with talks on starting a revolution and assassinations they had almost missed out the view of the Gold Saucer. To Cloud this was his second time enjoying such a view. Ironic that instead of having Aerith with him, instead he had Sephiroth, a man who murdered her in another lifetime. The thought made his blood run cold. Sephiroth didn't seem to notice Cloud's shift in moods. “It's beautiful, isn't it?”

Cloud dared not speak, and simply nodded. Sephiroth paused, unsure of himself as he decided to take Cloud's hand and simply hold it. Sephiroth's cheeks colored and he looked away. Cloud was puzzled by this strange behavior in him. “You okay, Sephiroth?”

The Gondola jerked and moved again. The ride would be over soon. Sephiroth let go of his hand. “Yes. I am merely enjoying this rare moment I have with you.”

Cloud warmed at that. This Sephiroth was really different from his nightmares. “I'm having fun here with you too... Hey you plan on writing or calling me and Vincent?”

Sephiroth sat up straight. “Yes! Can we exchange numbers and mailing addresses before we part?”

Cloud nodded. He didn't have any paper on him but the hotel would. Speaking of... “We should get back to my room and get you out of those clothes.”

The Gondola ride came to a stop and the doors opened. Sephiroth's face was as red as Vincent's coat. “I don't think I can do such things with you yet! I find you very adorable but it would be criminal to do that with you before you are of age!”

Cloud whipped around, blushing at how his words were taken. “N-not like that! I mean... Oh never mind. Let's just get back to Vincent, yeah? You're still wearing his spare clothes and your babysitter doesn't need to know that you've been out and about without adult supervision.”

“Oh.”

Sephiroth wanted to crawl under a rock. Thankfully when they got to the hotel the staff at the front desk though he was his father, and didn't correct him when he was greeted with a “Evening, Mr Valentine. You and your son enjoying your stay?”

Sephiroth nodded, and moved on to the room Cloud was in. Cloud put a finger to his lips when he saw his mother in bed, sleeping. She mumbled, “Oh, did you and Vincent have fun?”

“Yeah mom... Uh, we're going to clean up, you go back to sleep.”

Cloud opened the window to the balcony and whistled. Hopefully Vincent would get the message that they were back now. Sephiroth smiled when Vincent came back, stunned by how much he resembled Sephiroth with hair coated with a silver color. It was the eyes that were the dead giveaway. He looked at Sephiroth. “Your stuffed chocobo is on your bed.”

“Thank you father.”

“...”

Vincent gave him a nod and moved to the bathroom to wash the dye out. Sephiroth spied a pen and some paper on the desk. “Cloud, your number?”

Cloud grabbed them and wrote down his number and mailing address. “Here, this one's for our house, and this one is Vincent's private line. It's secure so use that one to talk about sensitive stuff. Oh and this where we live... If you know, wanna drop by or mail postcards or something.”

Sephiroth took the paper and held it like it was the most precious thing in the world. “I shall... Oh, let me get you my contact info.”

Sephiroth looked on the same desk for a piece of paper and found a folder with pictures peeking out. “What's this?”

Cloud was curious too and looked. They were from the Chocobo race from earlier. Sephiroth was shaking his hand and looking into the camera. He was looking shocked and happy. Vincent scared the snot out of him when he commented, “Claudia decided to get several copies... I think she wishes to send them out as postcards to friends. My son, would you like a copy?”

Sephiroth was not used to being snuck up on. He relaxed right away, nodding. Vincent handed him a photo of the three of them... along with Cloud's mother and Vincent's legal ward. It was by definition the first and only family photo he had now. “This is my family. I have a picture of my family.”

It was a shocking revelation that he had a family now. It was why Sephiroth was so reluctant to return to his lonely suite and a bed too large for just himself. “I suppose I will have to get back to my bedroom now. By myself.”

Sephiroth looked forlorn out from the rail of the balcony at Cloud and Vincent, and Claudia. A group of people that he can call his family. His pack. Then he climbed back up to the balcony to his own room.

Sephiroth found his room to be empty. Same as always. Except, perhaps for the large Chocobo in his bed, a gift from his father. Sephiroth set down his first and only family picture on the nightstand, with a very precious paper with Cloud's contact info that he put next to the picture. He had gained possessions that were of sentimental value. They made the space he occupied something that he could say was his.

Even with the addition of the plush chocobo toy and the family photo for comfort, it did not fill the silence. It was quiet enough that he could hear his Turk babysitter out in the hallway flipping through the pages of a book. To fill the silence, Sephiroth made another copy of Cloud's info to put in a little black book he used for various notes. He made a note to get a frame for his family photo. It was too quiet again. “I suppose a bath is in order. I still smell like that Midgar Zolom.”

The bathroom was far too large, the shower at least filled in the silence with the sound of running water. The whole time he couldn't help but think of how much better it would be if Cloud or his father were here. As he walked out of the bathroom in a luxurious bathrobe, steam clearing out, he heard a knock on the door. “Sir? Are you awake?”

It was his Turk babysitter. Sephiroth called out, “Yes, I was just finishing up my bath. What do you want?”

“The winner of the chocobo race wishes for an autograph. He is here with his Omega mother. Should I turn them away?”

Sephiroth yanked his room door open and saw Cloud in blue pajamas with little chocobos on them. His mother was behind him with a kind smile. Cloud waved at him, holding a picture of them. “Hi! I'm Cloud, from the race? I was hoping I could get an autograph?”

Sephiroth stood aside, “Cloud!” Sephiroth winced as he sounded a little too eager. “Ah, yes. I remember you. Please, do come in.”

Claudia smiled. “Thank you. I hope it's not too late, but Cloud here wanted to try to see you and get an autograph.”

Sephiroth glanced at the Turk babysitter, and at the Strifes. “It is no problem. I had wanted to catch up with Cloud anyway. We used to play together, it would be nice to spend time with an acquaintance I am already familiar with rather than my bodyguard over there.”

Cloud grinned and whispered to Sephiroth. “My mom figured you'd be feeling alone up here by yourself and thought I could come up here for a sleepover.”

Sephiroth shared Cloud's grinned. “That 's a wonderful idea. Thank you, Ms Strife was it?”

Claudia giggled. “Just call me Claudia. If you wish, Cloud can stay up here and you boys can have a sleepover. Just no funny business. Cloud may be young but he's still an Omega and I don't want your teeth in his neck. Not until he's sixteen at the very earliest.”

Cloud flushed. “Mooom! It's not like that!”

Sephiroth snorted, “Don't worry. I have no such intentions.”

Sephiroth caught his turk bodyguard hiding his own laughter and continued, “Besides, my own marking glands under my fangs aren't even fully developed yet, so there is little worry about that occurring. I just got my fangs, after all.”

Claudia raised an eyebrow. “Oh good. Just so you know, Cloud can't court until he's sixteen. I know he's adorable but you can't keep him just yet.”

Cloud groaned again. “Mom! Please stop! I just wanna hang out with him. Watch a movie, talk about sword-fighting, maybe eat some take out. Not _that_.”

Sephiroth could help but laugh. “I thank you Claudia, but my plans include just ordering food from the hotel's kitchen and watching a movie. Would you care to join us? I promise, I don't bite. Really. I'm sure my bodyguard here will make sure I do nothing to hurt the Shinra Company's public image, isn't that right?”

The turk nodded. “Yes sir. Putting a claiming mark on Omega children before they present is frowned upon by President Shinra and his company...”

The unspoken “but happens anyway with those rich assholes” did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room. Omega trafficking in big cities like Midgar were the reason Claudia stayed in a small town like Nibelheim and why Cloud kept himself armed at all times.

Sephiroth picked up a menu sitting on the coffee table. “Here, you two get what you like. My bodyguard will fetch it, and whatever he wants for himself as well. We can see what's to watch while we wait.”

The Turk nodded, surprised by Sephiroth's apparent generosity. When they made their enormous orders of pizza, ice cream and a truffle pasta for Cloud's mother, the Turk left to get their food. His mother found a movie for them. “Oh! I loved this one as a little girl! What about Loveless, the movie?”

Sephiroth scowled. “Please no. Genesis watches that every night. Quotes it all the time.”

Claudia wrinkled her nose. “Ah, so Loveless to you is like what The Last Unicorn is to me.”

Cloud had completely forgotten that little tidbit about himself. “I was five, Mom. I grew out of that.”

Sephiroth caught the scent of an embarrassing story and pounced. “The Last Unicorn? Isn't that some kind of children's movie? Aimed toward Beta girls and Omegas?”

Claudia groaned. “Yes! And he would make me play it all the time. It was the only thing that would put him to sleep. He used to pretend he was a unicorn in the yard, screaming 'I'm not a human, I'm a unicorn!' Hela's tits, I'm glad he grew out that phase. I swear if I ever see that movie again, I'm going to throw the tv playing it, out the window.”

Sephiroth had the biggest shit-eating grin and saw Cloud attempting to hide behind a pillow. He practically purred, “Why, Cloud, I had no idea that you were a unicorn.”

Cloud mumbled into the pillow. “I welcome you, Death.”

Claudia giggled sadistically. She had gotten her revenge for years of sleepless nights, now she was ready to take pity on Cloud after having her fun at his expense. “How about something else? Oh, this looks good. Princess Mononoke... Oh, perhaps not. I mean, some critics call it anti-Shinra, so it is a bit controversial.”

“Let's watch it.” Sephiroth decided, liking the idea of something Shinra hates. “I've never heard of it.”

Claudia let out a sigh of relief. “Oh good. I didn't want you to lump me in with certain eco-terrorists for liking a kid's movie. It was made years ago anyway, it's about treasuring nature as it is. The animation is quite good.”

Cloud had seen it. Princess Mononoke was a favorite of Barret's, mostly for it's not so subtle theme on saving the environment. “I like it because it has giant wolves you can ride.”

Sephiroth perked up at the mention of wolves. He brushed his hair out of his face, showing off the Fenrir earring Cloud had given him. “I am partial to wolves.”

The Turk babysitter came in with a cart full of their food. “Here sir, the dinner for you and your guests.”

Sephiroth took the food and passed it out. He had ordered enough for four people. Minus the Turk before him. “Thank you. I think I can handle an Omega woman and her Omega son. If there is anything you wish to do with your free time, you have it now.”

The Turk raised a brow, looking at Cloud's mother and back at Sephiroth. He got the message that Sephiroth wanted him to scram, but for the wrong reasons. “Got it, but sir? If I may be so bold, is that woman mated?”

Sephiroth's eyebrows shot up. “No she's not. Why? Are you interested in her? Don't take this the wrong way, but you are a Beta, usually Omegas prefer Alphas.”

The Turk held up his hands defensively. “No, no, no! There's nothing wrong with liking milfs. I'll uh, just go.”

Sephiroth had no idea what a milf was. He made a note to look it up later. For now he returned to the couch with Cloud and his mother. The movie was enjoyable, and artistically well-done in showing the beauty of nature and ugliness human progress. He could see why people would call this movie anti-Shinra, but even so, he enjoyed the movie. Not just because he was watching it with his pack, or because it was a small act of rebellion against Hojo. When it was over, and the ending showed a hope of the once beautiful forest will come back, Sephiroth saw Cloud yawn.

“Ready for bed?”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah, guess it's been a long day.”

Claudia looked at the clock. “Well no wonder, it's almost midnight. It's past your usual bedtime.” Claudia stood and addressed Sephiroth. “Thank for dinner and a movie, Commander.”

Sephiroth gave her a curt nod. “It's General now, but you may call me Sephiroth.”

Claudia wrapped her arms around him. Sephiroth was stunned. He'd never been hugged by anyone's mother before. He leaned into it and wondered if this was what a mother's hug was like. She even kissed him on the forehead like he was her son. “You be good with Cloud, Sephiroth. I'm trusting him for the night in your care. No staying up past three in the morning eating junk food.”

Claudia moved from Sephiroth to her own son and gave Cloud a goodnight kiss as well. “Vincent and I will be in our hotel room downstairs if you need anything. You be good and don't burn anything. We can't afford to pay for damages in this place.”

Claudia left, leaving Cloud and Sephiroth alone at last. Cloud examined the king sized bed and poked the rich silk sheets. “Would I get in trouble if I jump on this bed?”

Sephiroth chuckled. “Probably not. I was given orders to have fun by President Shinra. It's not my fault if he didn't specify as to _how_.”

Wicked grins appeared on both their faces and both jumped on the bed like kids. Cloud was the first to instigate a pillow fight. As it turned out, a pillow fight with Sephiroth was a bad idea. It was well past midnight before they decided to actually sleep. Once again Sephiroth was using Cloud as his own personal teddy bear. Cloud found he didn't mind. There was something about Sephiroth's scent that he found comforting. He dreamed of laying in a field of flowers with Sephiroth there beside him.

The next morning they shared a quiet, bittersweet breakfast. Today they needed to part. When Sephiroth's Turk babysitter delivered their breakfast, Vincent had snuck into the room unnoticed. “Sephiroth... My son.”

Sephiroth looked up from his plate of bacon and eggs. “Father?”

“I have come to bid you farewell... for now.”

“I don't want to leave you. I want to go to Nibelheim with you, with my family.”

Cloud shook his head. “Shinra would hunt you like a dogs and burn the village to the ground. You know what cruelty they are capable of. Besides, we can stay in contact. The three of us.”

“The four of us.” Vincent added. “If you count Cloud's mother. She has mentioned how fond she is of you, my son.”

Cloud speared a piece of his waffle. “But we do need to be careful. Shinra has eyes everywhere.”

Sephiroth cursed. “I did look for bugs...”

Vincent shook his head. “There was one in the ventilation... I destroyed it.”

“I keep forgetting my father was once a Turk.”

“I do not.” Vincent replied.

Cloud swallowed his food before adding his two gil. “And neither do I forget what I am. Shinra will look at me if we remain in contact, so I'll have to play up my act as a kid you met briefly and now worships you as a hero. Make me look like a harmless fanboy that you humor rather than an anti-Shinra assassin that you're colluding with.”

Sephiroth smirked. “I hate to say this but physically you are a child, that I have taken a shine to. With your performance at the race and in the Battle Square you would've been scouted as a SOLDIER candidate if you weren't an Omega.”

Cloud thought about that. “Vincent and I threw out that idea months ago.”

Vincent remembered. “Entering the SOLDIER program would mean getting examined by Hojo. We cannot allow that. Cloud was reshaped by the lifestream, there will be differences that Hojo will notice and want to experiment on.”

Cloud shuddered. “Well, at least my gender keeps me out of the running for SOLDIER lab rat of the year. I'd rather be a delivery boy than go anywhere near that monster in a lab coat.”

Sephiroth straightened up, setting down his fork. “That's not a bad idea.”

Cloud looked at him. “What's not?”

Sephiroth pointed at him. “You being my delivery boy. President Shinra promoted me to General. I can make you a private delivery service that is approved by a General to deliver goods to Shinra's military bases by chocobo.” Sephiroth scowled. “I've seen Heidegger use private services to deliver his porn mags.”

Cloud made a face. “I'm not delivering your porn.”

Sephiroth looked rightly offended by that. “You won't need to. I don't find desperation particularly sexy. I know most of those 'Hot' and 'Wanting' Omegas in PlayAlpha are usually only doing it to pay their rent.”

“Well that's good.” Cloud replied. “I guess that puts your moral standards above Heidegger.”

Sephiroth snorted. “A fat moogle could leap above that bar... So care to be an errand boy for Shinra, or rather, me?”

Cloud looked at Vincent. “Sounds good to me. Vincent?”

Vincent nodded. “It will be a good cover for our real work.”

Sephiroth wiped the remnants of his breakfast with a napkin and stood. “Then it's a deal. I hope that this parting is only temporary. Good luck, father. And to you as well, Cloud.”

Cloud took the hand Sephiroth offered. “You as well. Don't get caught.”

Sephiroth gave his father one last parting look before he disappeared like a phantom. Sephiroth took Cloud downstairs in full view of his Turk babysitter and returned him to his mother. Sephiroth found it hard to turn away, but he did. His babysitter raised a brow. “Did you actually have fun?”

Sephiroth kept his cool. “I need paperwork drawn up. The Strife family has found a way to successfully breed gold chocobos. The boy has plans to run a chocobo delivery service. I want to vet him to be a Shinra-approved private service for the army.”

The Turk's expression changed. “That's... very clever, sir. I'll contact Veld immediately about your business meeting.”

Sephiroth heard him talk to his boss. Apparently until Sephiroth had mentioned vetting the winning racer of the Chocobo cup as a delivery boy on Gold Chocobos, he had thought he was some weird teenager acting like a brat, and scenting 'milfs', whatever those were. So far, so good. He would be able to see Cloud occasionally, and at the same time, help him on their quest to take down Shinra.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one will be the last chapter before a time skip. Cloud will be sixteen, the same age he was in Crisis Core. Not sure what Shinra considers the age of adulthood but apparently at sixteen you're old enough to sign up for the army and consent to experimental medical procedures to make you into some enhanced super soldier... which is really fucked up on several levels if they can't smoke, drink, or have sex to numb the pain of signing your life away to a corporate military. Leave a comment below! I'd love to hear your thoughts! 
> 
> Next Chapter: Mosey'in Around
> 
> P.S: I did mention I tore some muscles on my back scraping ice off my car and moving furniture, so writing or doing much of anything is hard. So the next chapter will be late. So sorry about that.


	6. Mosey'in Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My back is fully healed and I no longer sound like a howler monkey whenever I bend over or reach for something on the shelf. Thank you everyone for being concerned about me, I'm really touched. 
> 
> In other news, did any of you catch that trailer of Intergrade? I'm excited to see Yuffie making her grand entrance, as well as hints of Deepground. I just hope Sqaure makes a DLC for folks who already played FF7 Remake on the PS4 and don't make us shell out money no one has these days for a PS5 that no one seems to be able to get their hands on...
> 
> Anyhoo, enjoy! There will be some brief time skips throughout this chapter with next chapter having a large time skip.

Chapter Six

Mosey'in Around

Sephiroth had returned to Midgar with what little he packed and a child sized plush chocobo in his hands. Midgar was as offensive to his senses as Gold Saucer was, but in various ways. He was basically hand delivered to President Shinra just about as soon as he entered the city. When he entered the vast and imposing black marble of President Shinra's “office” he was greeted by the man himself along with all of the other department heads with Heidegger being notably absent.

President Shinra had a cold smile, but then again, the man wasn't capable of being anything else but cold. “General Sephiroth! So good to see you. How was your vacation? You have fun?”

Sephiroth remained expressionless. “I prefer the battlefield, but in a sense. Yes, I had _fun_.”

Hojo pursed his lips at the sight of the plush chocobo under one arm. “What is that thing?”

Sephiroth raised a brow at his chocobo, held it up for all the others to behold. “I thought it rather obvious, Hojo. It's a stuffed toy made to look like a chocobo.”

There were snickers all around except from Hojo who was glaring at the toy like it was something obscene. Sephiroth noted how annoyed the man got when he always failed to put Professor before his name. Hojo was not pleased by Sephiroth's rebellious behavior. “I know that! I meant, why do you have it?! It serves no purpose for you.”

Sephiroth visibility rolled his eyes. “Neither does your penis, and yet you don't hear me making a fuss over why you even have one.”

Sephiroth heard from Vincent that Hojo was sterile. A fact Sephiroth found explained Hojo's inferiority complex and why he would keep his ex-wife's child despite it obvious that he wasn't the father. Sure enough from the way Hojo's expression darkened, Sephiroth had hit a raw nerve. The rest of the room erupted in cruel laughter, and President Shinra wiped a tear. “Okay, now. Simmer down. Let's keep it civil. We have other business to discuss, Sephiroth wasn't there some delivery service you wanted vetted to deliver to our bases? Veld you know anything about this?”

Veld nodded and flipped through a file. “Yes, the winning racer of the Chocobo S-Cup at Gold Saucer... A Cloud Strife, registered male Omega in Nibelheim, wants to start a Chocobo delivery service with official Shinra approval to make deliveries to our non-civilian places.”

President Shinra perked up with an interest in the mention of Cloud that disgusted Sephiroth to his core. “An Omega? Is there a picture?”

Veld tossed out the picture with complete disinterest. “Yes sir... but he's only ten, so not the kind of excitement you may be looking for.”

President Shinra looked at the picture of Cloud with passion, thank Gaea, going away. “Oh. Well, he's still cute. I imagine he'll be a knock out in a few years, especially with those bright baby blues of his.” The old pervert gave Sephiroth a wink. “You sure you want a kid delivering your monthly issue of PlayAlpha? I know some Omegas in the Honeybee Inn that might tickle your fancy.”

Sephiroth blushed. “I don't read that particular magazine, sir.”

Hojo glanced at the picture and to Sephiroth's horror, he saw a spark of interest. Hojo asked, “Hmmm, this Omega child is showing high levels of Mako-Shine.”

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. “Yes. Cloud fell into a natural Mako Spring half a year ago. He has fully recovered and is perfectly capable of being a mere delivery boy. _Mine_ , to be exact.”

Hojo had that creepy smile. “It sounds like an interesting specimen, particularly an Omega that can survive such high levels of exposure to Mako and is so healthy... I must get a sample! For science of course.”

Sephiroth gave Hojo a warning look. “He and his family have discovered a method of breeding gold chocobos, a breed I should remind you all, is capable of going over oceans. I would consider that to be worth more to Shinra than letting such a perfectly good opportunity go to waste in your lab.”

Of course Sephiroth was betting on President Shinra's greed and perverse desires to keep Cloud away from Hojo. “Sephiroth is right! Cute little Omegas delivering our issues of PlayAlpha on _Gold_ Chocobos? I'd be crazy to give such a hot item to a Beta that can't appreciate it. He's got my approval.”

Sephiroth nodded and gave Hojo a smirk. “Thank you, sir.”

Hojo protested. “But the scientific discoveries that could be made!”

President Shinra waved him off. “Already decided. You have enough pet projects. Let Sephiroth have his little venture. I want a Gold Chocobo in my stable, it's the only color I don't own yet. Next item on the agenda!”

Hojo pouted, looking really unhappy. Seeing Hojo suffer, albeit in a minor way, gave Sephiroth great pleasure. However Sephiroth knew Hojo was persistent and often went behind Shinra's back to get what he wanted. Sephiroth knew this because of what his father had told him. Old Man Shinra didn't care about the lives of other people, not even his own. What he did care about was if someone put down one of his loyal dogs without his approval. And the Turks cared especially for their own since no one else would.

Sephiroth was brought from his musings when a Beta man named Reeve Tsuetsi, the head of the new Department of Urban Planning cleared his throat. “I had wanted to bring up the idea of alternative energy sources for towns not near a reactor and need the power supply.”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Kya ha ha! Why would we need to look into anything other than Mako? It's clean, it's efficient, and can fire up cannons like nothing else!”

President Shinra shook his head. “The lovely Scarlett is right. Don't need it. Those towns can get plenty of power with the mako pipelines and shipment of batteries.”

Sephiroth took this to be as about as good a segue as any to start Cloud's long term plan to rid the use of mako. “Like our military bases in Wutai? Those same supplies of mako fuel for our generators keep getting hijacked by Wutai pirates. Since we can't get a reactor in Wutai right now, and it isn't feasible to install a pipeline under the ocean, we need some other way of keeping the lights on.”

President Shinra looked somewhat annoyed. “Then you had better keep defending my ships.”

Sephiroth couldn't back down, not with so much at stake and his pack depending on him to do his part. “Very well, President. I will do my very best, but a permanent energy supply that isn't reliant on supplies of Mako from other reactors for our generators... Like, oh say wind, or solar, would greatly boost our chances of conquering Wutai. Wutai has Mako, but we have to install drills and reactors to get to it first, and we can't do that without winning this war first.”

The President's expression actually changed. “Hmmm, that is a conundrum. Very well, Reeve. Look into this power problem of the General's here.”

Reeve glanced at Sephiroth with a grateful nod. Sephiroth tuned out Palmer's report on the failing Space Program. Sephiroth noticed that few others were paying attention. He was glancing at the clock waiting for this horrid meeting to be over. At last Old Man Shinra looked to be wrapping it up. “Alright, that's about everything. Oh yeah, and a round of applause for the success of the SOLDIER program and the promotions of Commanders Rhapsados, Hewley, and Sephiroth to General.”

Sephiroth raised a hand on impulse, a sudden desire declaration of war against Hojo, a declaration that would keep Hojo away from Cloud and have the paranoid bastard busy trying to hide the many skeletons in his closet. “That's General Valentine, sir.”

All heads turned to him. Hojo's expression was of panic. Veld, the head of the Turks, was now focused on him in a way he never usually was previously. President Shinra looked up lazily. “Hmmm? Who's Valentine?”

Sephiroth glanced at Hojo with a brief smirk and back to the President with a blank face. “That is my surname, sir. Sephiroth Valentine. You addressed my comrades by their surname, so I thought it odd that I was the only one who wasn't.”

President Shinra looked up in surprise. “I didn't know you had a last name.”

Hojo was seething. “He doesn't! A perfect being born and bred soldier like Sephiroth has no need of a family name. I should know! _I made him!_ ”

Sephiroth kept his fists tight and his emotions buried. He calmly addressed the President. “Correct me if I'm wrong President, but is it not customary for Alphas to have the family name of the Alpha who sired them?”

President Shinra looked at Hojo with interest. “You didn't tell me he had an Alpha sire. Who was this Valentine?”

Hojo bit his teeth, and glanced nervously at Veld. “Just a Shinra employee who generously donated his DNA for the creation of Sephiroth here. However, my own dormant Alpha gene was also used, so there is _that_ to consider.”

Sephiroth tried not to smile at his victory of seeing Hojo shaken for once. “The sire I speak of was an Alpha, not a Beta like Hojo. Traditionally, as an Alpha I should have the surname of Valentine, instead of Hojo.”

Veld spoke up, staring at Sephiroth as if seeing him for the first time. “President. I believe I remember the Alpha he speaks of. Vincent Valentine was from my division. He still holds the highest record on our shooting range and is noted for his great self-control. I can see why he would be considered to be a donor for Sephiroth. Vincent was one of our best.”

President Shinra seemed delighted by this revelation. “Ah, so Sephiroth was bred from one of my Turks, huh? What is the current status of this Vincent Valentine?”

Sephiroth glanced at Hojo, taking pleasure at seeing the fear behind his glasses. “My sire was employed as a bodyguard for the scientist in charge of creating me and tragically lost his life in a terrible lab accident before he could witness my birth. A shame I never met my Alpha sire, but it is fortunate that he died saving your life. Isn't that right Professor Hojo?”

Hojo swallowed and nodded, having that same creepy smile, but behind his glasses was fear, but it wasn't fear of Sephiroth. Hojo was afraid of Veld. “Yes, Valentine was a credit to the Turks, and his loss is deeply felt by his department, even after so many years later. My condolences, Veld.”

President Shinra nodded. “Yes, yes. A great shame. I will have your surname noted on your file, Sephiroth... Valentine. Yes. Hmmm, I bet that last name will be popular with those Omegas come February!”

It was the one downside Sephiroth could see at adopting Vincent's last name, but he would celebrate it, as well as the victories he secured for his pack today. When the meeting concluded, Sephiroth stood and left. He needed to be ready to leave for Wutai once more. He saw Hojo slink off the Science Department, but not before giving Sephiroth a glare. Sephiroth knew that Hojo would be kept busy now by trying to erase any trace of murdering and experimenting on a Turk.

“General... Valentine.”

Sephiroth saw Veld step into the glass elevator with him, and gave him a curt nod as a greeting. “Veld.”

Veld looked at him. “I can see the resemblance. To your father.”

Sephiroth nodded. “I saw the picture in the obituary. I believe I inherited his cheekbones and chin.”

Veld had a fond smile. “And his pheromones. You have the same scent. Almost at least. If I close my eyes I can almost be fooled into thinking that your father is standing next to me.”

Sephiroth already knew that he inherited his father's scent. “I see... Do you think of my father highly?”

Veld nodded. “Indeed, I do. He was my partner and friend. Do let me know if you need anything. We Turks like to think of ourselves as a close family.”

The elevator stopped and Veld got off on the Department of Internal Affairs. Sephiroth was left with the impression that Veld would be looking again into his father's “death”. Had Vincent not instructed him to keep the fact that he never died a secret, he probably would have been tempted to tell his former partner. Then again, in a way, Vincent did die. He just didn't stay in his grave.

* * *

Cloud sat in the snow sipping some hot cocoa he had packed watching the fireworks in the snow, from a safe distance on the mountain cliffsides as it all went off perfectly. Vincent was next to him, watching it all burn up with two bull dragon carcasses in the middle. They had set fire to Shinra Manor in the dead of night, from the basement to the attic, it was going up in literal smoke. It was beautiful to see it all burn. “More cocoa, Vincent?”

Vincent shook his head and took out a bottle of wine he had raided from the manor before they destroyed it. The red wine flowed like blood into the glass Vincent had saved, and savored the moment. “It feels freeing... Doesn't it?”

Cloud had to agree. “No more nightmares, no more lab. Good riddance.”

The villagers in Nibelheim were trying to put out the fire but as the blaze raged on, they gave up and were letting it all burn. Now all they could do is make sure the fire didn't spread. Shinra Manor was burning and two dragon carcasses were rising from it like macabre Yule log decorations. There was no doubt in anyone's mind what caused the fire. What they cried the most about was not some abandoned manor that Shinra didn't let any of them use, but all the good dragon parts and meat they could've used.

“We'll have to wait awhile before we hit the reactor next. I'm thinking an avalanche.”

Vincent sipped his wine, enjoying the fire display burning the birth place of his nightmares. He raised a brow at what Cloud suggested. “Avalanche? That group you and I were once a part of?”

Cloud snorted. “No. An actual one. Like with snow. You heard what Sephiroth told us last week.”

Sephiroth had called Vincent's secure PHS number. He had tricked Shinra into looking into power alternatives for their bases in Wutai, at least until they could stick a reactor there. Once the technology existed, which it did in the other life they remembered, they could utilize it to replace the reactors. Vincent was not as optimistic as Cloud was, which was saying something since Cloud wasn't the optimistic type either. “Cloud... I'm more concerned by Hojo's interest in you. It is in your medical records, that Shinra can access, of you surviving being submersed in a Mako Spring and your miraculous recovery. Hojo is no doubt scouring the records and making note to grab you as a specimen.”

Cloud shuddered. “Yeah, no shit. For once, I'm actually glad that I'm publicly registered an Omega. In a small town like this, my disappearance won't go unnoticed or taken lying down.”

“Nor will Sephiroth.” Vincent noted. “He has made it clear to Shinra that you were to be his personal delivery boy. Whether Shinra likes it or not, he has claimed you... In a way.”

Cloud blushed. “I just hope I don't have wear any kind of weird uniform.”

“Like short-shorts and a crop top?”

Cloud glared at his friend. “Your sense of humor leaves much to be desired.”

Vincent shook his head. “No, I am merely telling you of the uniforms Omegas that work retail are often forced to wear.”

Cloud chugged his cocoa like it was whiskey. “Gods I hate this sexist world.”

A thunderous bang came from the Shinra Manor. The roof had collapsed in the fire, as did the floor and the basement. The destruction was impressive. To Cloud and Vincent, it was so cathartic to watch the birthplace of their nightmares burn away into nothing more than ash. A cloud of fire burst into a crimson pillar of smoke. Actual fireworks shot off into the sky. Vincent sipped on his wine. “Ah, looks like the fire has reached the storage room with the fireworks.”

Cloud smiled. “Aren't you glad I put them there now?”

Vincent nodded. “I am. They are quite lovely.”

Through the chaos of the fire and boom of the fireworks, neither man noticed someone trudging through the snow until they were right behind them. “Cloud!”

Vincent and Cloud turned to see Tifa panting and staring at them. Cloud wondered if Tifa was there to help them put out the fire they helped set. “Tifa? Is everything okay? We've been watching the fire. It doesn't look like it'll spread, but we're ready to help if it does.”

Tifa shook her head. “Cloud... I remember things... Dreams, nightmares. I keep having the same thing. The village, our home, all of it burning down. That guy on tv, General Sephiroth. In my nightmares he sets the fire and kills Dad. I keep having this... _feeling_ , that you know what's going on.”

Cloud and Vincent looked at one another. Vincent nodded, as if giving Cloud his blessing to tell her everything. “Tifa. Those aren't just dreams. Tell me, do you dream of a man with a gun for an arm, a talking cat, a girl in a pink dress dying to save the world, and Sephiroth trying to destroy it with a meteor?”

Tifa's jaw dropped, and she picked it up and nodded. “I do. I remember us, Vincent too, all fighting with this rag tag band of heroes... What's going on, Cloud?”

Tifa was demanding answers. It was time Cloud gave them. “It's vision of the future. A vision that Vincent and I have been working on to change. If you want to know more... know that there's no turning back. If you want to walk away and keep pretending that it's just a dream, this is your one chance.”

Cloud knew Tifa would never back down, but he had to at least try. Tifa stood her ground. “Tell me the truth, Cloud. _All of it_.”

Cloud sighed, and started trudging through the snow to the stables. “Alright then, let's mosey. It's a long story and I'm not telling it out here in the snow.”

Tifa's lips twitched and then she paused. “Let's mosey... I think you said that before.”

Vincent looked at Cloud, worry and hope written on his face. “Cloud... If Tifa is remembering things... What of our other friends?”

It was a concern he shared, but one that gave him hope that they could be reunited. “Then we'll have to seek them out.”

Tifa furrowed her brows, wondering what they were talking about. “Other friends? You mean those people I keep seeing?”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah. You, me, Vincent here, Barret, Cid, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Yuffie, and... Aerith.”

That last name was hard to utter without pain and grief. He had to remind himself that Aerith was still alive and selling flowers in Midgar. Safely watched over by Turks that didn't want to hand her over to Hojo. As Cloud looked at Tifa, he felt a spark of hope at seeing all his friends again. Even if they remembered nothing, then at least he could meet them again, if only to see if they are doing well.

* * *

Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth had finished off the last of the monsters that made their nest in the Wutai base they made their own. The pagoda-style fortress of Mori was centuries old and in a state of disrepair thanks to them, but it was still serviceable for placing their army. A year later and they were still finding monsters hiding in their fortress.

The three of them headed straight to the hot spring, stripped and just slid right into the hot water with a sigh. Angeal rubbed his lower back, and let the hot water soothe his sore muscles. “Man, I'm beat. This bath was just what I needed.”

Genesis reclined against a rock in the hot spring. “I know what you mean. Are you sure we can't get some grunts to fill the big tub inside?”

Angeal shook his head. “Let's just use this outdoor spring. I'm too tired to move.”

Sephiroth was not pleased with how the fortress had no indoor private showers. “I can't believe the best bathroom in this place has no plumbing.”

Angeal shrugged. “We know it's a bathroom because of the tub and towels and soaps they left behind, and the drain at the bottom of said tub, but no faucet? The architect should've been fired.”

Genesis sighed. “A mystery that I want to unravel as much as the Gift of the Goddess... What I wouldn't give for a decent bath. I tire of bathing outdoors like an animal.”

Sephiroth groaned. “No Loveless, Gen. It's been a long day.”

Genesis smirked and before Angeal could tell him off, reached into the water and splashed their fellow general. Sephiroth glared at Genesis. “I see you've chosen death again, my friend.”

Genesis laughed, and sputtered when Sephiroth quickly swept his leg and yanked him in. Angeal, unfazed simply lowered himself in the water and ignored the water war next to him. “Keep it down you two, I've had a long day.”

Genesis rose out of the water, looking like a drowned rat and spat water in Sephiroth's direction. “That was uncalled for, Seph! I swear that chocobo you sleep with is going to get it!”

Something dangerous flashed in Sephiroth eyes. The rivalry between Sephiroth and Genesis had always been friendly. A little yellow equipment materia he had dangling from his ear, sparked and his katana appeared in his hand. Even dripping wet and not a scrap of clothing to hide his body, he looked intimidating. “You will not touch Cloud Jr. If you do, I will burn every copy of Loveless you own.”

Genesis back off, knowing when he pressed a button. The three of them after awhile learned there were certain items of great sentimental value. Genesis had his first edition copy of Loveless, Angeal had his Buster Sword, and Sephiroth? Apparently it was a large Chocobo plush he sleeps with at night. “I apologize Sephiroth. I had no idea that your... stuffed animal meant that much to you.”

Sephiroth said nothing, and his katana disappeared back into the materia like magic. The tension in the hot spring was thicker than the steam. Fortunately a grunt had good timing and greeted them with a salute. “Generals!”

Angeal nodded. “At ease. You need something?”

The soldier looked at Sephiroth. “I am just following General Valentine's orders, General Hewley...” It was hard to tell with the steam, but the Alpha was blushing. “He just told me to let him know when the mail comes... Even if he's in the toilet or taking a bath.”

Sephiroth stood up all of a sudden, causing the water to ripple and splash in his wake. He stared down at the grunt, uncaring that his other “sword” was dangling in plain sight. “Did I receive anything from Nibelheim?”

The grunt tried to keep his gaze up away from the decidedly large thing hanging between his commanding officer's legs. “Uh yes, sir. It's uhh package, we have the bomb squad poking it.”

Sephiroth's large thing twitched, possibly in anger. No one was sure, nor did they want to know. “Why do they have my mail?!”

“The box was _leaking_. It looked like blood.”

Genesis and Angeal decided bath time was over and followed Sephiroth. As they were grabbing bathrobes, Genesis asked Angeal, “Speaking of mysteries... Do you ever wonder why he gets excited to get mail from Nibelheim?”

Angeal shook his head. “Maybe he has family?”

“What kind of family sends a package with blood in it?!”

Angeal frowned. “Perhaps someone who isn't a fan wanted to send him a message. Like in the Godfather, you know, the scene where the guy finds his prized racing chocobo's head in his bed?”

Genesis shuddered. “Perhaps a spy from Wutai sent it from Nibelheim to avoid suspicion?”

“Doubt it.”

“But it's package leaking _blood_!”

It was a mystery everyone was curious about. On a table in the temporary mess hall was a cardboard leaking blood on it. Sephiroth looked at the soldiers inspecting it with bomb detectors. “Why is it on the table where people eat?”

The soldiers gestured to the dogs eagerly trying to get to the box leaking blood and licking their chops. “To keep them from tearing it open.”

Sephiroth summoned his katana. “Move.”

The whole mess hall filled with curious soldier's scrambled to get out of their general's way. Sephiroth sliced it open and when it didn't explode, he looked inside. His expression changed to delight when he pulled out an envelope written in red blood; _“For my son, Sephiroth”_

Sephiroth had a warm smile as he read the letter that was written suspiciously in blood. “Ah. It's from my family back home... Oh, look. A new chocobo hatched. They decided to name her Goldilocks.”

Sephiroth was holding a letter written in blood like it was just a normal thing. Angeal asked what everyone else was too afraid to ask, “Seph? Why did your family send you a package leaking _blood_?”

Sephiroth pulled out the source of the blood. It was a half-frozen plastic bag filled with chunks of meat thawing and dripping blood. He sniffed it, even as everyone else was grimacing. “It's dragon meat. Still good. Looks like we can have dragon steak tonight and dragon sausage for breakfast.”

Genesis squawked. “ _Dragon_ meat?!”

“Yes. Dragon. It's a delicacy in Nibelheim. I've never had any before so I'm excited to try it. Let's get this in our freezer before it thaws completely.”

Sephiroth picked up the box leaking blood and left the mess hall, leaving a grisly trail behind him. Apparently the fact that it was chunks of flesh from a fire breathing dragon didn't make it any less terrifying. Even more terrifying was the look on Sephiroth's face as he bared his fangs at the prospects of devouring the flesh of a monster people had nightmares of. Angeal and Genesis shuddered, glad that Sephiroth was their friend and not an enemy.

Sephiroth went back to their shared kitchen on the top floor, and set the box down on the wood floor in front of their fridge. As he started putting some of the meat in the freezer, he called back to them, “Did you want some of this for breakfast?”

Angeal and Genesis shook their heads. Sephiroth shrugged. “More for me. Just don't steal my dragon bacon like you do my yogurt... Ah, they sent more.”

Sephiroth pulled out a tin with homemade gingerbread cookies in it. He bite the head off of a wolf shaped cookie. “Gen, you want to try one? They're gingerbread.”

Genesis crossed his arms. “Okay, seriously, who sends _raw_ dragon meat in the mail?!”

“My family apparently.”

“But _meat_? Bloody, raw meat?!”

Sephiroth ignored Genesis and found a black leather thing at the bottom. It was a black coat made with dragon hide. The mythril shoulder armor had a wolf emblem on the left side. Sephiroth was enamored. “This is exquisite...”

Genesis whistled at the craftsmanship. “If only it was in red, then I might be tempted to steal it from you.”

Sephiroth snatched his new coat away and looked at Genesis as if he threatened to steal his child. Angeal, ever the peacemaker, stepped in before another fight over territory broke out. “Now, now. You're both pretty, so no reason to fight... But that is a nice coat. You're family must really love you. Some of that work looks hand done, and probably cost a pretty piece of gil.”

Sephiroth looked at the coat and tried it on. It stunk of dragon blood, making an already intimidating man like Sephiroth now a terrifying sight. It also made Genesis even more curious of this supposed 'family' Sephiroth has but never mentions. Angeal knew Genesis was not going to drop this, and he had to admit that he was curious about Sephiroth's private life. Of the three of them, Sephiroth's background was the most mysterious. They didn't even know his last name until a few months ago. “So what's your family like, Seph?”

Sephiroth wiped the cookie tin of the blood covering it and helped himself to another gingerbread cookie. “They're nice.”

Genesis narrowed his eyes at the short, unsatisfactory answer. “You never mentioned having a family. I was beginning to believe you popped out of a hole in the ground.”

Sephiroth raised a brow. “I popped out of a hole, but it wasn't in the ground. I did pop out of my mother's womb if you must know, the same as the rest of you.”

Angeal snickered. “You walked right into that one, Gen.”

Genesis blushed. “Okay, okay. But what about parents, siblings, childhood... I had thought that perhaps Hojo... Never mind.”

Sephiroth curled his lips, revealing his fangs. His eyes flashed dangerously. “That monster is not, nor will he _ever_ be my father.”

Angeal stood up and took out a bottle of Wutai sake. “Clearly we've hit a nerve. Seph, if you want you can talk and we can listen.”

“What would the point of that be?”

Genesis sighed. “'There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess. Hero of the dawn, healer of worlds.'”

Angeal rolled his eyes. “I think he means we're friends and we'll help carry your burdens.”

Sephiroth paused, as if wondering. “Very well, but this stays between us... One moment, my peace lily is looking rather dry.”

Sephiroth went to a potted plant in the corner and took out what looked like a listening device, and went to the bathroom. From the sound of the toilet flushing he had disposed of it. Sephiroth walked back in and washed his hands. “Now we may talk.”

Angeal stared. “How long had that been there?!”

“About a week. Shinra likes to keep tabs on us. Make sure we're doing our jobs.”

Genesis was now getting worried. “Well, this is not how I expected this to go. Do they have my bedroom bugged?”

Sephiroth had a smirk on his face as he sat down. “Honestly the Turks only half-assing it. They have other things they'd rather do than babysit us... So you really want to know about my family?”

Angeal and Genesis looked at one another. Both were wondering what secret Sephiroth was going to divulge. Was he actually from a family of Wutai spies? Or demons from the underworld? They both nodded. Sephiroth smiled and slid the mysterious envelope with Sephiroth's name on it toward them. Genesis was the first to snatch it and he read it aloud.

“ _'My son, I hope you are doing well in Wutai. Claudia worries that you are not eating well, a concern I share. During the last full moon I apparently went hunting, killed a dragon and dragged it's half-eaten carcass home. I have gotten better at controlling my transformations over the years, but it seems some instincts like hunting for one's young is a strong one. Don't worry, the meat I sent was from the untouched part of the carcass that I did not bite into...'_ ”

Genesis paused, trying to process what he was reading. “What the hell is this?”

Angeal picked up a picture of blond haired boy holding a gold colored chocobo chick. He smiled. “Cute. Who's the kid? I can only assume that this chocobo is the aforementioned Goldilocks.”

Sephiroth blushed, and had this odd expression on his face. “That is Cloud.”

Genesis had a shit-eating grin. “Oh ho. I see that name here. Oh, here it is. Right after the mentions of monsters and transformations.”

“ _'...Cloud has made you this new coat from the hide for his Omega class. Claudia had enrolled him in the Omega class at school, and he wasn't happy about it. When I informed him that Nibelheim is too small to have uniforms like they do in Midgar he stopped complaining. His cooking leaves much to be desired. The cookies he had made were not even suitable for pigs, which is why Claudia made the ones in this care package. At least his skills with Chocobos are better. Our breeding pair have produced their first chick and it is a gold as we predicted. He decided Goldilocks a suitable name...'_

Genesis frowned. “This is... kinda normal. Almost boring.”

Angeal thought it was sweet. “Oh look it's signed _"_ _with love from your dear ol' dad"_ Makes me miss mine. I don't know why you keep this a secret.”

Genesis looked at Angeal, “What about these transformations his father speaks of?”

Angeal furrowed his brows. “Wait, I thought his father was dead?”

Genesis felt a cold wind as the thought passed him. “Valentine. That is your surname, Seph. Didn't you say you took to to honor your dearly departed father, whom you never met?”

Sephiroth sighed and took back the letter, “My biological father _did_ die. Cloud... This family I have in Nibelheim is one that I have that isn't bound with blood but one I made and decided to take for my own. This is my secret that I wish to keep from Shinra and the rest of the world. I adopted a family so that I could feel like I belong somewhere.”

Angeal clapped Sephiroth's shoulder and had a warm smile. “I understand completely. You have a found family, one you want to protect.”

Sephiroth smirked. “That and since I've hired my family to be a Shinra-approved private delivery service, I'd rather Shinra not know that I am guilty of nepotism.”

The three of them bust out laughing. Shinra was practically run on nepotism. Genesis promised, “You have my word that not a word of your nefarious activities will pass our lips.”

Sephiroth nodded. “Thank you... Now I need to clean my new armor before I turn in. Good night.”

Genesis and Angeal went to bed satisfied at solving the mystery behind the mysterious mail Sephiroth gets from Nibelheim. As Genesis was trying to sleep a thought kept him awake. Genesis nudged Angeal. “Hey. That boy in the picture. The letter said that he was an Omega. Do you think Sephiroth may be intending to court him?”

Angeal rolled over. “Huh? No way. Seph's into milfs. That's what I heard anyway.”

Genesis heard the same rumor that half the world knew by now. “Do you think Seph's going to make that Omega boy deliver his porn directly here? Like Heidegger did with his mail? Goddess grant us mercy if I have to walk in on _that_.”

Angeal groaned into his pillow. “Gen. Go to sleep.”

Genesis dropped it and rolled back over. He decided that some mysteries were better left unsolved. Like whatever fetishes Sephiroth has. Be it milfs or blond Omega boys named Cloud, he didn't want to know.

* * *

Cosmo Canyon was a dry and barren place, but still full of life and the voice of the planet could be heard here, blowing against the rocks. Cloud stopped his chocobo here. Of all the friends of his previous life, the one most likely to both remember him and be out of reach of Shinra's prying eyes, Red was the most likely.

Marlene hadn't even been born yet, so Barret still had his hand and his trust in Shinra. Yuffie was only six at this point and the heir of a nation at war. Reeve was currently in Midgar, and although Sephiroth has been helping him fund alternative energy methods, he would still be too risky to approach. Same with Aerith. Cid was working as a pilot and still had his dreams of going to space, dreams that have yet to be shattered by Shinra.

Cloud would let them live their lives. When their lives will be uprooted, he'll be there for them to help pick up the pieces, but for now the only friend he believes he can reach is Red XIII. Or rather Nanaki. Bugenhagen was his other reason for being here. He was a scientist that listened to the planet, and would be a candidate to help develop other energy sources to wean people off of mako.

The village of Cosmo Canyon was up ahead, and led Goldilocks up the steep climb. A difficult task for a regular chocobo, but easy for a young Gold. The village was as he remembered, but somehow more lively. Shinra's Turks had yet to hit this place to take Nanaki to Hojo, but Cloud would not let that happen.

The folk here looked at Cloud with a raised eyebrow. A large muscular woman, a scent coming downwind of her informed Cloud that she was an Alpha. She sniffed the air around Cloud and her expression changed. No doubt she wanted to protect the little Omega that was alone in the desert. Her deep voice cooed to him gently. “Little one, what are doing out here all alone? Do need one of us to call your parents?”

Cloud shook his head. “I came to speak with Nanaki and Bugenhagen.”

That raised even more eyebrows. An eleven year old Omega child comes riding to a remote place like Cosmo Canyon to speak with the elder and knew Nanaki by name. It was enough to cause whispers. It wasn't more than a minute before the Elder himself came down to see what the commotion was. Bugenhagen was a familiar face, old and wrinkled and looked at him in recognition. “You! The one Gaea sings of! Come, come! I have been waiting for you.”

Cloud had half expected this. Bugenhagen was one of those people who listened to the planet. Bugenhagen ordered the Alpha woman, “Go fetch Nanaki. This is very important. Tell him we have a distinguished guest sent to us from Gaea.”

The Alpha woman looked at Cloud with confusion and a hint of both fear and reverence. She nodded, almost reluctantly and went off to find Red. Cloud didn't blame her. Bugenhagen was their revered elder but Cloud's child-like appearance didn't exactly scream champion of the planet. Cloud put his Gold Chocobo in the stable and followed the elder up to his observatory. When behind closed doors, he asked, “Bugenhagen. Do you know me?”

Bugenhagen bowed deeply. “Only of you. The great WEAPON reshaped and reforged by our planet to save it. A surgeon to cut away diseased flesh. The rain that douses the hungry fire. OMEGA. Nanaki sees you in dreams every night.”

Cloud smiled at the mention of his friend remembering him. “Does he remember me then?”

Bugenhagen shrugged his shoulders. “I only know what he tells me and what the planet whispers through him. I too feel the planet's pain. Shinra is draining it of its lifeblood and this planet's ability to support life.”

Cloud nodded. “I know. Working on it. The Calamity they woke up has to be dealt with first.”

Bugenhagen shuddered. “I too have heard of this calamity. The disaster that wiped out the ancients.”

Cloud shared the old man's fear. “Yeah. It's a parasite that poison's the lifestream. If Jenova, as they've called her, is left unchecked she can destroy the planet from within. Gaea can eventually recover from what Shinra's doing to her, but not that _thing_.”

Bugenhagen bowed again. “Omega Weapon. I am old and have little to offer, but I am at your service.”

Cloud smiled. “Don't beat yourself up. You have plenty to offer. Like knowledge on how to build alternate energy sources. Wind power, solar, hydro... People won't be willing to switch from mako if they're aren't any alternatives.”

Bugenhagen stroked his beard in thought. “Before Shinra discovered how to use Mako for energy there was coal and fossil fuel, but they have since been abandoned because of the air pollution it causes. In truth they're better for the environment than Mako, but people choose to ignore the truth.”

Cloud sighed. “Yeah, I've noticed that. Think you can come up with some alternatives? If you can develop something to keep the lights on without draining the planet, then I can come up with people willing to turn off their reactors.”

Bugenhagen chuckled. “Ho ho hoo! I believe so.”

The door to the observatory opened and Cloud's heart skipped a beat at the sight of a friend he had not seen in a long time. Nanaki was younger, less scarred. He did not carry the marks of torture Hojo burned into his flesh. “Red...”

Nanaki trotted toward them and sat down. “Grandfather, is this the guest?”

Bugenhagen smiled and nodded. “Yes, here he is!”

Nanaki sniffed Cloud and studied him. “You... You look familiar. I know you, but... Cloud? You're the Cloud Strife I see in my dreams, aren't you?”

Cloud smiled. “Hey Red. Glad to see you. How much do you remember?”

Nanaki shook his head. “The dreams are hazy, not as clear as true memory but I have seen us fight side by side to save the planet. Not much. You feel like a stranger and yet also a friend... It is an odd sensation. Like deja vu.”

Cloud sighed. “I had hoped you remembered me fully, but still... You're my friend, and I do have to warn you.”

Nanaki's ears went up. “Warn me of what?”

“Hojo.” Cloud warned. “He will try to capture you, and will use Shinra's Turks to do so.”

Nanaki shuddered. “I have seen that... monster in my dreams to. My fur scarred with tattoos. Why does he want me?”

“He's interested in your species, wants to experiment on you. He a twisted fucker with zero ethics or any care beyond satisfying his own curiosity and desires.”

Nanaki growled. “Then I will be prepared. I will fight. I will not be a coward.”

Cloud pitied his friend. “Red... Nanaki. There is one other thing you should know.”

“What?”

Cloud thought Red had deserved to know this from the beginning. “Your father, Seto was no coward.”

Bugenhagen gasped. “OMEGA... Nanaki is not ready! That place is too dangerous!”

Nanaki turned on the old man. “What do you mean, Grandfather?!”

Cloud summoned a small blade. “Bugenhagen. Let me take him there to Seto's resting place. The ghosts of the Gi won't be much of a threat if I am there. I can always summon Vincen– I mean my herald, Chaos.”

Bugenhagen gave Cloud the key. “Thank you for doing this.”

Cloud shook his head. “I'm just doing it because he's a friend. Just promise you'll work on what I asked.”

Bugenhagen nodded. Cloud turned and walked out of the observatory with Nanaki trailing behind silently. Cloud remembered the way. He had done this before with Nanaki, albeit he was more experienced in fighting. The ghosts of the Gi were as he remembered and Cloud was able to dispatch of them. Thanks to the Ribbon he wore, their poison arrows did nothing to him.

Nanaki stayed close behind him, “Cloud. You have done this before... As have I... My father... He had been turned to stone, hasn't he?”

Cloud nodded. The last of the Gi's spirits had been dispatched. Seto's remains were up ahead. “He fought bravely. He sacrificed himself to cut the Gi off and keep them from getting to the town. You can see him for yourself.”

Nanaki took a deep breath, and took tentative steps to the end of the cave. There he found his father, and howled. Cloud watched over Nanaki and waited until he was ready. When Nanaki looked back at him, he had a bittersweet smile. “Thank you Cloud... I needed this, but where are the others? I think I remember there being others.”

Cloud sighed. “So far it's just me, Tifa and Vincent. Maybe you now.”

Nanaki cocked his head. “You are trying to gather us all together, aren't you?”

“I am, but... some will be difficult to get to, or even convince. You know I'm trying to take down Shinra and some of the others haven't learned what Shinra is like yet.”

Nanaki rested his head in Cloud's lap. “You can count me in at least... And the rest of Cosmo Canyon.”

Cloud smiled and rested his hand on Nanaki's head. “Thanks. I should let you know that we have another on our side. A man in SOLDIER. I cleansed him of Jenova's taint and he's seen what Shinra will do to this planet. He managed to contact Reeve about coming up with alternative energy solutions under the flimsy lie of their bases in Wutai needing a steady energy supply until they can build a reactor there.”

“Reeve? You mean Cait Sith?”

Nanaki was remembering more, and it gave Cloud hope. “Yeah. The guy in the cat suit. I haven't been able to meet him in person, not yet.”

“Who is this friend of yours in SOLDIER?”

Cloud hesitated. “Not sure if I should tell you. Tifa yelled at me when I told her, and Vincent was supportive but wasn't keen on him in the beginning.”

“Who?”

“Sephiroth.”

Nanaki growled. “Are you serious?! I have seen him in visions setting the planet on fire and murdering the last Cetra. Why would he help?”

Cloud sighed. He had a feeling he would have this conversation with each of his friends that remembered. “Long story short, he was a victim of Shinra and Jenova. He was basically a puppet. I freed him of Jenova's influence and let him make his own choice of who he wants to be. He chose me and helping the planet. I can't believe I'm defending him, but here we are.”

Nanaki gave him a funny look. “Alright, if you're sure...”

Cloud was and that was scaring him. “Yeah I am. He's... a good guy.”

It was a strange thing to say, but it was true. Sephiroth was the good guy. At least this time around.

* * *

It was pure coincidence, or perhaps fate that Cloud had seen the Tiny Bronco busted on the road to Junon to deliver Sephiroth's monthly supply of shampoo and conditioner. The bulky bottles they make for hair salons was shoved in a large saddle pack on the sides of his chocobo. He stopped Goldilocks at the familiar sight of the airplane grounded. The sounds of a man cursing up a storm was like music to his ears.

“God damned fucking piece of shit!”

Cloud had to squash down his smile at seeing Cid Highwind again in this life. Cloud coughed. “Bronco busted?”

Cid banged his head on the hood of the Bronco engine and cursed again. “Shit! What in–”

Cid's cigarette dropped from his mouth when he took in the sight of Cloud. “Oh. A kid? All the way out here?” A sniff. Cloud was surprised Cid could smell anything other than cigarette smoke. “You're an Omega! What the hell are you doing out here by yourself?!”

Cloud crossed his arms. “I'm a mature twelve. And I'm a delivery boy. What's wrong with your airplane?”

Cid laughed. “You're cute, don't get me wrong but I don't think you can fix it. The Mako fuel injector's not working. Unless you got a new one in that little purse of yours, the Bronco ain't going nowhere.”

Cloud rolled his eyes. Fenrir, his old bike that he still missed, was finicky as hell and often had the same problem before he decided to convert it from Mako. Anyone's who worked with enough engines know how fickle Mako can be. Cloud dismounted and pushed past Cid to see for himself. “Hmm, yeah it's busted alright. The Mako is leaking everywhere. Damn.”

“That's what I fucking said!”

Cloud rolled up his sleeve and adjusted the slots of his materia. “I can re-solder it, it'll patch you up until you can get it to a real shop, give me a minute.”

Cid's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. “You sure know your way around engines, huh kid? Gotta name?”

“Yeah. Cloud Strife.”

Cid seemed to have a look of almost recognition on his face before it went away. “Hmm, I feel like I've heard your name somewhere before... Oh well, glad you came and bailed my ass out.”

“Glad I could help... Shit there's Mako everywhere. This is the reason why I use chocobos. At least my birds I can count on more often than these Mako engines.”

Cid chuckled. “I know what you mean, kid. At least the birds are easier to fix up.”

Cloud began cast a Firaga in a small control flame that could melt the metal together. He could feel the mako at his fingertips wanting to join the lifestream and wanting to meld with him. He concentrated and felt its desire. Then he finished. “There. Done, but I gotta tell you, Mako's not the best fuel to use. The Mako itself maybe what caused the leak in the first place.”

Cid lit another cigarette. “Don't I fucking know it... Shinra says it's clean and efficient but that shit burns through metal. I swear that shit's got a fucking mind of its own. Makes me miss my Pa's old fossil fuel engines. The gas may stink like ass and cheap gin but at least it doesn't burn through fucking metal!”

“There are alternatives now.” Cloud suggested carefully.

Cid scratched his chin. “I heard. Some bigwigs in Shinra's got other stuff for their military bases out in Wutai. None for us regular folk of course.”

Cloud smirked. “My hometown's running off of wind power now. I even know some guys using hydrogen fuel cells as well as biodiesel and electric for vehicles.”

“No shit?”

Cloud nodded. “Nibelheim. It used to be a reactor town... At least until a year ago.”

Cid snapped his fingers. “Yeah! I heard about that on the news. Huge natural disaster that destroyed a reactor. For days folk thought Wutai or some eco-terrorist group called Avalanche or something caused it.”

Cloud snorted. “Yeah it was an avalanche alright. Just not the one people were thinking of. This one was just the one Mother Nature made. Guess building a reactor in a mountain prone to avalanches and earthquakes was a bad idea, go figure.”

“Hmph. Shinra really didn't scout the place before building the damn thing, huh?”

“Yup. It's still there, you know. Just under a hundred feet of snow and rock. The whole thing's buried under an avalanche. Shinra decided it was cheaper to just leave it than dig it up, and left us without power... So Shinra forced us to build alternatives. We may be a bunch of hicks from a backwater town, but we manage to make some cutting edge tech when push came to shove.”

Cid scratched his chin whiskers in interest, pondering the suggestion of alternate fuel. “So your whole town's not on Mako. I thought those alternate fuel generators were for the army out in Wutai.”

Cloud shrugged. “It was, but they made an exception given that a whole town lost a reactor. A few Alphas in SOLDIER were from there and they decided that their families back home needed power to keep the lights on. Not much good to fight a war, if all your family back home turn into popsicles.”

Cid laughed. “Yeah! Well, hot damn, I may need to visit, see if someone can convert my Bronco here.”

Cloud got out a piece of paper and wrote a number on it. “Here. A scientist named Bugenhagen in Cosmo Canyon. If you tell him Cloud sent you, he can hook you up.”

Cid grinned. “Thanks kid!”

Cloud nodded and mounted his Chocobo. “Don't mention it. I'll see you later, hopefully not ass deep in a busted vehicle.”

Cid laughed and waved him off and started his engine. It was beautiful music to hear the Bronco roaring again. “Later Cloud!”

“Later, Cid!”

It was weird encounter for Cid. His plane was working again and was so overjoyed by it that he had almost forgotten about it. It was long after Cloud took off on his chocobo and he was airborne that he remembered it. “How did that little Omega know my name? I don't think I ever told him... Weird.”

Cid would continue to have dreams. Strange dreams of the world ending, of launching into space only to come crashing back down. He would brush off the encounter, at least for now. Now he had other dreams to work on. Like designing a rocket ship that can take him to space. With that hot piece of gossip of other fuel sources, he had lots of options opening up to him.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Killing Hojo
> 
> Yes. That's happening, Hojo dies. Get out the popcorn, it's going to be quite the show. Also there will be a large time skip and Cloud will no longer be seen as a kid, much to his relief and despair since he'll be presenting fully as an Omega.


	7. Killing Hojo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The long awaited chapter where Hojo dies. Please enjoy!

Chapter Seven:

Killing Hojo

_Several Years Later..._

Cloud was fifteen going on thirty-something. Cloud smiled like a pretty doll at the Shinra employees around him, he had to really sell his act of the cute Omega delivery boy. It was part of the plan that was over five years in the making, and the thought that Hojo and Jenova would be gone tonight put spring in his step. The Alpha guards all fawned over him. His customer, an Alpha SOLDIER third class, blushed and smiled like an idiot. His customer was none other than Zack Fair. “Aww, I didn't think my Ma, would send such a cute little Omega like you to deliver my birthday present! It's like a two-fer!”

It wasn't odd for Zack to be friendly and lively. What was odd was Zack treating him like... Well, like a girl. Cloud thankfully didn't have to give this guy a fake smile, Zack would always get real smiles from Cloud, it hurt a bit for Zack to treat him like a stranger. “I know sir, I'm like the Easter Chocobo!”

“But much cuter!” Zack insisted.

Cloud smiled and nodded, it was hard to keep his guard up around Zack, “At least I don't have to wear the chocobo costume, even I wouldn't be able to pull that off. Please sign here.”

Zack laughed, signing the receipt and putting in a big tip. Zack in every variation was always kind to other. “Oh yeah, a chocobo costume would look strange on you, even if you do have the hair for it! Besides the guys would give me endless shit if Ma sent me an Omega dressed like the Easter Chocobo! The outfit you got on now is both practical and flattering.”

Cloud was grateful for that much. His outfit was the same black wolf style outfit he wore in his previous life, except he had a red cape like Vincent's with lots of pockets for hiding his weapons and materia. His pants fit just as well as he remembered, if a bit tight around his ass. Cloud snapped out of it and focused on his mission. “Oh! Your mother also said that you'd be getting your second round of shots today.”

Zack grimaced. “Yeah, the Mako shots suck. I'm not looking forward to it to be honest, but it's necessary. This'll be number two, and from what I hear it's crappier than the first!”

Cloud shared Zack's reluctance, and knew very well how painful it was. In another life, Cloud and Zack suffered it and more together. Cloud didn't want Zack to go at it alone. “If it's allowed, I can hold your hand for it. Your mother was worried that you'd have no one to help you through it.”

The Alpha's friends all cat-called Cloud, including Zack. “Aww, that's real sweet of Ma! Did she make sure to have a nice little Omega comfort me for my next round today?”

Cloud sensed Vincent's presence nearby, their other reason for being here. Cloud nodded and blushed. Zack flirting with him was strange and new. Cloud felt like he knew Zack but it was one sided, and to complicate things he needed to get into Hojo's labs, where Zack was headed. “Uh... yeah! Your mother is such a nice lady, and it would be an honor to do her this favor of holding your hand through this! Even a big strong Alpha likes you needs a little TLC once in awhile.”

Cloud groaned inwardly at himself. Zack flirting with him was kinda weird, but flirting back was even weirder. Thankfully Zack laughed. “I usually hate my shots, but now I'm looking forward to it!”

Zack's friends whistled, “You lucky dog! I want an Emotional Support Omega too!”

“Hey! I got _something_ else he can hold! Come up to my room honey, and I can show you!” Another singsonged suggestively.

The pervert got punched by his surrounding friends. Another yelled at him, “Hey! That Omega's still a kid you sicko!”

“He doesn't even look, _or smell_ , old enough have had his first Heat.”

“Or old enough to shave.”

Zack growled at said pervert, “Just for that, _Bob_ , I'm not sharing any of my mom's chocolate chip cookies with you.”

“Aww! I was just jokin'!” Pleaded Bob the Pervert.

“No! No cookies for you!” Zack bared his fangs.

Cloud smiled gratefully for Zack coming to his defense. In this world, Cloud was still adjusting to the differences. He was glad that Zack being honorable was one one thing that never changed. “Thanks.”

The guy smiled. “Always happy to defend adorable Omegas from creeps!”

Cloud prayed Vincent would hurry up. As much as Cloud hated to admit it, him being an Omega meant he'd be a good distraction. They waited years for a good opportunity like this. It was not everyday they could get access to the Science Department, much less with such a great shot at Hojo's head. Now Cloud gets handed access on a silver platter because he was a “cute little Omega delivery boy.” It was besides the fact that Cloud could see Zack again.

Zack held out his arm, and Cloud took it ever so daintily. Cloud saw Vincent in the corner of his eye. Right, keep Soldier-boy's attention on the delivery boy. Cloud smiled while he was gritting his teeth. “Lead away, Mr Alpha SOLDIER!”

“Just call me Zack, and don't worry, I'll keep my flirting PG.”

Cloud nodded, and took Zack's arm like a girl at a debutante ball. He kept reminding himself why he was putting up with the sexist bullshit of this world, and that this was Zack and Zack was still alive. Cloud would make sure Zack stayed alive this time. “Of course, Zack. You can call me Cloud.”

* * *

Vincent was a shadow. His mission was clear. Soon the man who took everything from him would die. His lover, his son, and his very humanity were stripped from him. Hojo would soon die. As would all of Hojo's hopes, dreams and precious experiments. They would go up in flame and his name reviled. But first, Vincent had a favor to call in if he was to freely walk from Hojo's corpse.

The Department of Investigation and Internal Affairs was much like he remembered with only a few redecorations. He spotted a Turk he knew from a time that never was, Tseng. Still a rookie who was hired no doubt to his Wutai heritage, and could spy on Wutai for Shinra. He would go far, but only because Turks did not meet peaceful ends. Vincent moved on.

The office was occupied by a single man that Vincent knew well. Someone he trusted with his life once, and hoped he could trust after his “death.” Vincent cut the lights, and Veld's right hand transformed into a gun. The man looked around for the intruder. The rain and thunder in Midgar only set him on edge further. Vincent emerged from the shadows, the lightning from the sky briefly revealed his monstrous figure. Veld gasped and shot. Vincent was unfazed. “Verdot.”

Veld put his gun down, realizing who Vincent was. “It can't be... No one called me that but-”

“Your partner.” Vincent finished.

Veld shook his eyes, the man's face pale. “No, it can't be. You're dead. I saw the autopsy pictures. Fuck! I mourned you and we held a memorial!”

Vincent didn't deny that fact. “Yes, I did die. And you didn't avenge me. You let me rot in the basement of Shinra Manor. You let the man who murdered me and use my corpse as his plaything walk freely in the heart of Shinra.”

“What?” Veld trembled. “I was led to believe your death was an accident. I looked into it. But I found nothing on Hojo!”

Vincent snorted. “You should've known better than that. Go on. Let's have a seat. Turn on the light and see what that monster did to me.”

Vincent could see the fear in Veld's eyes. His hand trembled as he pulled the little chain on his green and gold desk lamp. The sight of Vincent in his current form made him recoil. “Dear sweet Gaea! Vincent, what happened to you?”

Vincent did not blink. “Isn't it obvious? Hojo turned me into a lab experiment. Tell me Veld, do you know what's like to be unable to move and unable to die? It is a Hell like no other. For the first few years rotting in that basement I wondered if my fellow Turks would look for me when I went missing. That hope died as time passed.”

Veld took out a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a straight shot. “Shit. I'm so sorry Vincent. I should have known... I really should've...”

Vincent's gaze softened. “You were once my partner, my trusted friend.”

Veld down the first shot and poured another. “I still am. Once a Turk, always a Turk... Even if you are a phantom now. I'm making this right.”

Veld said it with conviction. The raw fury that was hard to fake. Vincent stood and circled the desk. Veld was nervous, especially when Vincent's claws reached out to him. Veld relaxed when Vincent encircled his arms around his old friend. “Thank you.”

When Vincent let go, Veld relaxed completely. “What do you need me to do?”

“Make sure Hojo's death is written off as a lab accident... As mine was.”

Veld nodded. “I will... Vinnie.”

Vincent chuckled at the nickname, and decided to pour a shot of whiskey for himself. Veld watched with avid fascination as Vincent drank. “So not a specter?”

Vincent shrugged. “I'm not incorporeal if that's what you mean.”

“...but I shot you.”

Vincent blinked, remembering the bullet in his flesh. After a pause he dug into his own flesh with a sickening squelch and dug out the bullet with his claw. Bullets usually got pushed out on their own, but this way the would healed faster. Vincent placed the bullet ever so politely on Veld's desk. Veld winced, horrified and fascinated at the sight before him. “Doesn't that _hurt_?”

“Yes.”

Veld let out a long breath, shaking his head. “Dear gods, nothing ever seemed to shake you. Guess that still holds true. So other than being dead and haunting my office what have you been up to?”

“Breeding Chocobos. Got a family. Traveling the world. Plotting revenge.”

Veld nodded. “Good, good. Glad to hear you doing well, Vinnie. I know your son by the way...”

Vincent smiled. “Sephiroth learned well if you never caught onto our frequent correspondence.”

Veld groaned and face-palmed. “He knew?! Damn I must be slipping if that one slid past me!”

Vincent raised a glass. “Or your partner knew you well. Sorry for keeping you out of the loop for all these years. I couldn't be sure if you covered Hojo as part of your orders from up top or not.”

Veld actually looked insulted. “What?! Seriously?! I know as Turks the job has to come first, but really?! Selling out a fellow Turk to the science labs is a low that even we don't sink to.”

Vincent raised a brow. “What about shooting us down when we go rogue?”

Veld looked him straight in the eye. “Then we do it face to face. Our hands may be dirty but at least we'll have the decency to be upfront about it... Go. Get your revenge, Vinnie, and I'll cover for you. Here's a wire, and a Turk keycard. I'll cut surveillance feeds where you need to.”

Vincent nodded and smiled faintly. “I'll remember a new bottle of whiskey for your birthday.”

Veld laughed. “Just drop me a post card once in awhile partner... Oh, your gone.”

Vincent had vanished from the office, and his closet door was wide open. A suit and a pair of sunglasses were missing. Veld wondered what on Gaea Vincent needed with spare clothes. He would find out sooner or later. He called Tseng. “It's Veld. We have a job... Professor Hojo had lied about the _accidental death_ of one our own. It seems like there will be an accident in his lab soon. Be sure no Turk goes near the Science Department today... Good, that'll be all for now Tseng, there will be a meeting later. Veld out.”

Veld wished at times like this that he wasn't a director. His days in the field were done. He hoped that he could help his old friend behind the desk. He had to. Turks didn't have much honor, in fact they had only one rule: looking out for their fellow Turks. “Shit. I really had failed him... I had better make up for this.”

* * *

Cloud was escorted straight to the target, and the real assassin followed silently behind as a shadow in their footsteps. Cloud felt tentative walking into Hojo's lab, but soon Hojo would be dead and he wasn't alone. Memories of torturous experiments bubbled up like stomach acid. Thankfully Zack's conversation and mere presence made for a good distraction from it.

“Hey, you've got Mako-Shine!”

Cloud nodded. “I fell into a natural Mako spring as a child.”

“No way! You're alive?! Not a vegetable!?”

“Nope, but I was in a coma for a month.”

Zack blinked and changed the subject. “So how old are you? I mean, I don't mean to pry...”

“I turn sixteen next month.”

Zack blushed, “Oh, wow. So, you are young, really young. Being a delivery boy can be dangerous, especially at your age...”

Cloud shrugged. “Not as much as being in SOLDIER. You're risking a lot more than me.”

“Touche, Cloud. My mentor, Angeal, says about the same thing.”

Cloud noted Vincent's presence behind them, and during the conversation he felt him split off. Over the years, Cloud became sensitive to Vincent's presence, or rather the powerful entity he hosted. He could feel the presence of the lifestream pulsing under the city like a an open wound, but also the presence of life that didn't quite belong. People, animals, plants, they all felt the same. SOLDIERs who'd been injected with Jenova cells stuck out to him like a rabid drake in a china shop, and Jenova herself, Cloud could feel her life pulsing like a tumor further ahead in the lab.

Zack took a deep breath, bracing himself. “Okay Cloud! Here's where I get my shots.”

Zack took out his key card and opened the door to a lab, announcing, “Zack Fair, SOLDIER Third Class reporting for his scheduled shots!”

Skittish lab assistants looked up at Zack and their eyes drifted toward Cloud. One asked, “Uh, who is that?”

Zack beamed brightly, and pushed Cloud in the limelight. “This is my Emotional Support Omega. As you know, these treatments suck. His presence is calming.”

“Oh... We'll have to see what Professor Ho- Oh! Professor Hojo!”

Speak of the devil himself. Hojo was about a welcome sight to Cloud as a doomrat in his pantry. Hojo was like a sewer monster that crawled out from the depths, slimy and oozing filth from his soul while his lab coat was a sterile white. “Hmmm. What is this creature, SOLDIER?”

Zack smiled, as friendly as Hojo was creepy. “This is my Emotional Support Omega! His presence is here to keep me relaxed throughout the procedure... My mother sent him.”

Hojo leered at Cloud, and he knew that look all too well. Hojo's smile made Cloud's skin crawl. “Hmmm, fascinating... An Omega, yes, but shows heightened levels to Mako exposure. Luminosity levels of his Mako-Shine are equal to SOLDIERs of First Class. Hmmm, yes! This is the one! Oh ho! What a fascinating specimen!”

Cloud clung to his escort's arm, the instinct to hide behind Zack was strong. Zack raised a brow at how Hojo was leering at Cloud, and subtly put himself between Hojo and Cloud. “Uh yeah. He fell into a Mako spring as a child. Right, Cloud?”

Cloud swallowed his fear, smiling and nodding. Vincent was nearby and would end this motherfucker's life very soon. All he had to do was play along. “Yeah. I was in a coma for a month but I'm fit as a fiddle according to my doctor. A real bonafide miracle.” Cloud emphasized the fact that he already had a doctor and didn't need another. “ _My doctor_ still keeps an eye on me.”

Hojo frowned at the mention of another doctor studying Cloud, but his gaze did not stray from a potential specimen. “Pity you have a doctor studying you already... I am happy to accommodate you SOLDIER Fair, you get on the table, and your... _Emotional Support Omega_ , can stand next to you.”

Hojo pressed a button and a flash temporarily blinded the two of them. As Cloud blinked away the spots from his eyes, he saw Hojo gripping the counsel with glee. “Astounding! These mana levels are abnormally high! Similar to Ilfana's and dare I say, surpassing even _Sephiroth's_? Further study is needed.”

Zack looked up in shock. “Really?! My mana improved that much?! I didn't know I was that good! Angeal did say I was improving...”

Hojo grumbled. “Not you, you dunce! I meant the fascinating Omega creature next to you! Omega, I need a blood sample from you.”

Cloud hissed. “No. We're here for him, and you are not going anywhere near me.”

Zack was getting annoyed. “Seriously Professor, I thought I was getting another Mako shot, not watch you dissect my Emotional Support Omega... Whom you are scaring. You okay, Cloud?”

Cloud glared at Hojo. “I'm fine, just creeped out by this quack.”

To Cloud's satisfaction he saw a vein throb on Hojo's temple at being called a quack. Cloud listened to him grumble curses at the disrespect thrown his way and how he'll “show them all someday” and other things Cloud knew would never come to pass when Vincent was done with the bastard. Hojo prepared a needle of mako tainted with Jenova's cells. Cloud could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

Hojo strapped monitors to Zack and prepped him for the dreaded shot. Cloud held onto Zack, hoping to give the Alpha a small amount of comfort. The needle plunged into Zack's other arm, and Cloud felt Jenova's taint pulsing through his body as he held his friend's hand. If he closed his eyes he could feel the lifestream within himself trickling through Zack, and destroying the Jenova cells entering his body.

The monitors went crazy and Zack screamed. Hojo was unmoved, lazily noting on his pad, “Hmmm, another immune response. Subject's body appears to be rejecting the additional J-cells. Let's see how long it takes for the J-cells to overcome the- What?! J-cell count falling?! That can't be! They're supposed to be indestructible! No... This is like just like Sephiroth's samples from the past four years, but if the readings aren't from the incompetence of my assistants at the frontlines then... What could it be?”

Just then, alarms blared, red lights flashing. Cloud held Zack steady, focusing on burning away Jenova's taint within him. Hojo called someone over the phone, screaming, “What the hell is going on?!”

A pause, something made Hojo pale a few shades. “Specimen J... Is active? What do you mean it's going berserk?! How?! It's escaping its tank?! _All_ of the specimens have escaped?! Hello?! Answer me, you imbecile!”

Hojo growled and ran off out of the current lab. Cloud felt Vincent follow after Hojo, like the shadow of death. Hojo would meet his end very soon. Cloud had the other monster to kill. He heard the lifestream singing in his veins. _OMEGA WEAPON, Destroy the cancer, burn the virus, swift and precise. Swift and precise!_ Over and over it chanted, desperate and ecstatic at the same time. Cloud destroyed some of Jenova's cells with the main body so close in proximity, thus injuring it and causing it to react.

Zack groaned and looked around at the chaos. “What's going on?”

“I think some lab animals have escaped. The labs might be on lockdown, and Hojo just ran off.”

“Shit! We gotta do something!”

Zack got off the table and unsheathed a standard issue Shinra broadsword that didn't inspire confidence in his his next words. “Don't worry, Cloud, I'll protect you.”

The image brought back the memory of another time he said that, and on that cliff, Zack met his end. Cloud shook his head. Not this time. He pushed up his sleeves, showing the Mystile armlet he had equipped with six mastered link materia, and a modified Chocobraclet he won from the races with eight more materia. “I can take care of myself. In any case, I've got a Heal and a Revive, if you get in trouble.”

Zack's face fell. “Wow. That's... All I've got is an Carbon Bangle and a measly Fire 1.”

“That's it? I thought Shinra equipped its military?”

Zack sighed. “Yeah, they do. This my equipment.”

“Shame. I've got an extra Barrier you can have.”

Zack grinned. “Yeah? That'd be awesome!”

“Hold on.”

Cloud opened his cape and went through his materia inventory, and pulled out a halfway mastered Barrier and a new Heal. “Here. These are yours.”

Zack's jaw dropped. “Holy shit that's a lot of materia for a little guy... Seriously, it's like a shady guy opening his trench coat to sell you stolen watches or something and you get blinded by all the bling.”

Cloud just raised an eyebrow and went back to fishing out his own weapon; his Fusion Sword. Silently he unfolded it, and popped more materia in the slots, including his Knights of the Round Summon. He still had trouble wielding carrying around his sword on his back all the time, but was finally able to wield it like he used to. With his sword magically stored in his materia, most folk didn't know that the “cute Omega delivery boy” was fully armed and packing. “That should do. Let's mosey.”

Zack had questions floating in his mind, like, “How do you have better equipment than me or Angeal? Seriously, he's one of the Elite Three and he'd drool over your sword.”

Cloud shrugged. “I get big tips... And I find all kinds of stuff laying around in caves and forests out in the wilderness. I think the bigger question here is why wild animals have money and yet they don't have pockets.”

Zack made a good impression of a fish. “I- Uh... That's fair.”

“Right... So the escaped lab animals and the alarms still blaring?”

Zack blushed. “Right... Let's go.”

The Labs were in chaos. Mutated lab animals had attacked scientists and lab assistants. Some they managed to save. Cloud followed Zack thanking his luck for this wonderful alibi. Jenova was going to be another “vicious lab animal” that they had to put down. Most of them had Jenova Cells, that Cloud was able to destroy through the spells he threw at them. Cloud could feel Jenova thrashing.

The terrified lab assistants they found holing up in an office or storage closet had told Zack that they were coming from The Drum. A highly restricted laboratory that only a few were allowed access to. Fortunately several of the lab assistants, that Zack knew, gladly helped the SOLDIER get access so he could do his job of pest elimination. “Here Zack, If you can keep those monsters away from me, I can get you in there.”

Cloud was mostly ignored. After all, he was just the “Emotional Support Omega”, with some Materia to back up the badass Alpha SOLDIER. Even the six foot sword he had strapped to his back somehow didn't punch through the invisibility his gender gave him.

It was when things were going smoothly that Cloud noticed that plans tended to get a monkey wrench thrown in the works. As they got closer to Jenova, it wasn't monsters that got in the way, but other SOLDIERs. Kunsel gasped. “Luxiere? Sebastian? Jack? Guys, I'm so glad to see- Wait! Guys? It's me, Zack! Your buddy!”

Cloud knew right away what was wrong with them. Jenova had influenced their minds, and were under her control. “Zack, I don't think they're themselves.”

They shambled and moaned like zombies. Their skin was pallid and dark purple veins criss-crossed like a spiderweb. Zack held himself steady in a battle stance Cloud knew well. “Shit! What's wrong with them?!”

They pointed at Cloud and he felt Jenova's dark influence, she wanted them dead. They moaned out with raspy voices, “Defend Mother...”

“Kill OMEGA...”

“Reunion... Reunion...”

Zack glanced back at Cloud, worried for him. “Guys! Stop! What are you doing?!”

The lab assistant trembled, backing away from the SOLDIERs. “Oh no! The reaction is worse then we thought...”

Zack glared at the lab assistant. “Nancy! What's wrong with them?!”

The lab assistant was sobbing. “It's the J-Cells! They've taken over their minds! They weren't supposed to be able to influence their minds this much!”

Zack was not happy. “What?! J-Cells?! Like the shit Hojo puts in our shots?!”

Cloud of course knew the truth from the start, and felt pity for Zack for discovering that he was infected with something so horrifying. Zack's former friends launched themselves at Cloud, while Zack parried their attacks. “Cloud! I don't know why, but they're after you!”

Cloud did not run. He attacked back. He parried and pushed back with his sword. His speed and strength easily matched that of SOLDIERs. He used a Sleep spell as a vehicle for his Jenova destroying ability the Lifestream gifted him with. Like a vaccine it destroyed the virus that were Jenova's cells. He dodged their blades and with a single touch from his hand to their face they collapsed on the ground. Zack and Nancy the Lab Assistant were stunned. Cloud pointed to his materia. “Sleep. It's pretty good for knocking out tough enemies.”

“Oh. That's pretty smart!” Zack grinned.

Nancy looked over the unconscious SOLDIERs. “The physical symptoms appear to be disappearing! How?!”

Cloud knelt down beside one of them, he recognized the Alpha as one of Zack's friends that punched the Alpha that was being a pervert. He used a Cure on him and focused on destroying Jenova's cells. The guy came around. “Wha- Zack? Oh shit!”

Zack helped up his friend. “Luxiere! Oh man, are you alright?”

Luxiere saw Cloud and panicked. “Oh shit! You're that Omega delivery boy! Oh shit I'm so sorry! I don't know why I attacked you! I'm the worst Alpha in the world! An Alpha trying to hurt an innocent young Omega? I'm a monster!”

Cloud pat him on the shoulder trying to console him. Cloud was a bit awkward in such things but apparently it was effective. “It wasn't your fault. I think something else was controlling you.” Cloud glared at the Lab Assistant. “Isn't that right?”

Zack and Luxiere looked up at the Lab Assistant. Zack crossed his arms. “Nancy, what's going on?”

She cursed. “Shit! I'm quitting after this! I signed up to help the world, not help Hojo with his twisted experiments with t-tha-that _thing_!”

Luxiere pressed her, snarling and revealing his fangs. “I just tried to kill an innocent young Omega against my will, and I want to know why!”

Nancy sighed, and walked over to a computer terminal. She pulled up a map to the The Drum and pointed at the center. “This is where Hojo keeps his most prized lab specimen, a creature he calls Jenova. I don't know exactly what the hell it is but there are theories flying around that it's either an Ancient... or an extraterrestrial. Whatever it is, we thought it was mostly dead and thought it mostly safe to harvest it's cells to put in SOLDIERs to enhance them. Now it's alive and wreaking havoc. All the doors around the containment area are sealed to keep it in.”

Luxiere shuddered at the word 'extraterrestrial', “Wait, you people decided it was a good idea to put the cells of a _fucking alien_ inside of us?!”

Nancy held her head high. “Hojo did. Not me, I'm just a measly assistant... and besides, he claimed it was an Ancient. It's only a _theory_ that it's origin is alien.”

Zack towered over the woman, and his pheromones poured out. He bared his fangs. “You're going to unlock that door so we can get in and destroy it.”

The lab assistant nodded. “Right away!”

Cloud followed behind and the two Alpha SOLDIERs stopped him. Zack pulled him back, “Whoa there! This is really dangerous! I can't let you get yourself hurt!”

Cloud glared at him. He was so close to destroying Jenova, he could taste it. He couldn't let these hot-heads get killed, or worse; get Zack killed. Cloud came up with an idea they couldn't ignore “I was going to suggest that I use a Revive on your other two SOLDIER buddies and I can stay in the back throwing Firagas at it while healing you guys.”

Luxiere raised a brow. “That's... Not a bad idea.”

Zack agreed. “Yeah, let's do it... Cloud is your mana running low? I might have an ether...”

Cloud shook his head. “I'm still good. If it gets low I have a turbo-ether on me.”

Zack nodded. “Right, you have better stuff than me... Let's go kill an evil space alien!” He grinned. “I never thought I'd get to say that!”

Luxiere shared Zack's glee. “I know, right?”

Cloud revived the other two and Zack helped his buddies up. They all had the same puzzled looks on their faces and bowed their heads in shame when they saw Cloud. “We're so sorry!”

“We're piss poor Alphas for attacking you!”

“We couldn't help it! It was like we were prisoner's inside our bodies!”

Luxiere hummed in thought, “Yeah, it was like we were being controlled. Like some B-rated movie monster.”

Zack knew where Luxiere was leading. “Yeah! Like that old movie, 'Attack Of The Killer Brains From Outer Space!' We don't have wear tin foil on our heads, do we?”

Nancy the lab assistant meekly raised her hand. “I might have a theory?”

Zack gave her the stink eye. “Go head, Doctor Frankenstein. What have you got?”

She pointed at Cloud. “Him. While the others were under the influence of Specimen J, you Zack weren't effected. Now when they were given the orders from the puppet master, somehow they were freed from that influence.”

All the others in the room looked at Cloud. Drawing attention from Shinra was the last thing he needed. “Um, what's so special about me? I'm just a delivery boy.”

“You're an Omega, and one that seems to be enhanced. The Mako-Shine in your eyes can be seen from here.”

“I fell in a natural Mako Spring when I was a kid.” Cloud refuted. “I just got lucky.”

She shook her head. “I think it's more than that. All SOLDIERs are Alphas, and all the scientists here are usually Betas. We have no Omegas here, they just don't have the mental temperament for the hard sciences.”

Cloud glared at the woman, obviously a beta herself judging from the lack of pheromones. “Not the right temperament?”

She flinched. “Well... There are exceptions, but it seems that your presence, or rather pheromones overrode whatever influence Specimen J had on the Alphas. Proximity seems to be key here, since the SOLDIERs displayed being mind-controlled here in the labs... Where we don't usually have Omegas. Specimen J most likely viewed an Omega close by as a threat and reacted like it did, but the mind-control was broken when it tried to get an Alpha to kill an Omega.”

Luxiere saw where she was going. “Its at the core of every Alpha's basest instinct not to hurt Omegas! Dominate and mate, sure, but anything that could cause something fatal is something our inner Alpha tries to avoid at any cost!”

“Bingo! That's what I was thinking!”

Zack thought about it. “Come to think of it, when Hojo was giving me my shots, he said something was going wrong, like my body was fighting back?”

Nancy lit up as her theory was gaining traction. “Yes! An Omega's pheromones must somehow be able to override Specimen J's control! With this Omega's help, you Alphas can safely dispose of Specimen J without fear of being controlled!”

Zack nodded. “Got it. Cloud here is our tin foil hat.”

Cloud nodded, more than happy to let them think that he wasn't consciously sabotaging Hojo's experiments or that he wasn't some humanoid weapon made by the planet itself to combat threats like Jenova. "Yeah, just an ordinary tin foil hat... That's me."

Luxiere unsheathed his sword, facing the door and ready to go. “Right. With this cute Omega there as our cheerleader we can go kill a crazy mind-controlling alien.”

The rest of the SOLDIERs agreed. “Yeah! Time to go kill a space alien.”

Zack asked, “Is anyone going to ask why Shinra injected us with the bits of a mind controlling alien?”

Zack's SOLDIER friends all shuddered and looked uncomfortable. “Yeah... That does sound rather....”

“Evil? Immoral? Stupid?” Supplied Cloud.

“Yeah! That's it!”

“Blame Hojo. He's in charge of the SOLDIER enhancements.” Stated the lab assistant point blank. “The rest of us were no better than his personal slaves. Hell, I only know half of what's going on because I look over his shoulders sometimes.”

Cloud felt Jenova writhing. It was getting desperate. “We need to hurry up and kill that thing before it escapes. The last thing this world needs is a killer space alien on the loose.”

“Right!”

“Right!”

“Right!”

Zack and the rest of his SOLDIER Third friends were in battle stances and ready to go. Nancy overrode the lockdown on the door and opened it. Then she got out of the way. On the other side, Jenova could be seen clearly in her tank, enshrined like some twisted goddess of a mad man's sick experiments. The tentacle and bloated tumors pulsed and writhed angrily against the glass. The woman's face was corpse-like and still.

Cloud's head pounded. _OMEGA WEAPON, Destroy the cancer, burn the virus, swift and precise. Swift and precise! Swift and precise!_ The Lifestream sang to him a song of battle, and Cloud happily danced to it. Cloud threw a Firaga at Jenova, melting glass and burning parts of her cancerous flesh. He charged forward with his beloved Fusion Sword, swift and precise in his movements.

Zack and the other SOLDIERs charged into the battle, slicing and chopping away at Jenova's struggling body. The spawns she created from her burst out of their pods, lumbering toward them in a single minded intent to protect Jenova's main body. The more they took out, the more that replaced them. They were surrounded. Cloud's back hit Zack's, “Looks like we're in trouble.”

Zack bared his fangs at the monsters. “Shit! They keep coming! What is this? A monster factory?!”

Luxiere barked back, “That's what I'm beginning to think!”

Cloud reached for his most powerful summon; The Knights of Round. Cloud heard a legend once that the Ancient warriors defeated a Calamity from the sky once. “Guys, I've got a summon we can use.”

Zack gasped. “You have a summon?! What are you waiting for Spiky! Use it!”

“Yeah! We need back up!” Sebastian shouted.

“We're not getting out of here until these things are dead!”

Cloud froze at the nickname Zack just used. Did he remember? Cloud closed his eyes and reached in the summon materia for those ancient warriors. He poured in his mana, and shouted, “Knight of Round! You are needed! Come forth!”

Thirteen armored knights appeared from the materia in swirls of green light, ghostly and imposing. They stood around Cloud and the Alpha soldiers as a barricade against their surrounding enemies. Jenova panicked and screamed as each one sliced through her defenses and finally the thirteenth warrior, the King himself, finished with his sword Excalibur. When they faded, Jenova's spawn were all destroyed and her main body weakened and near death.

Zack's jaw dropped. “Holy shit! That was amazing, Cloud! You had that kind of ace up your sleeve?!”

Cloud knew she would not go down easy. Jenova still lived. “Don't celebrate just yet. She's still alive.”

Zack winced. “Eww, it's still twitching.”

“I say we burn the motherfucker.” Luxiere proclaimed.

Cloud grinned. Now and forever he would finish her off for good. Cloud looked at the SOLDIERs who saw him use such a powerful summons. Already he was drawing too much attention. If he wanted to escape he needed someone else to make the finishing blow. Zack. Cloud pretended to fumble. Luxiere was nearby to catch him. “Whoa there sweetie! You okay?”

Cloud shook his head. “Too much mana. I'm drained. That summon took everything. Zack, take my Elemental materia. It'll pump up that measly Fire and you can burn it with one slice of your sword.”

Zack nodded, and brushed Cloud's hair back. “Don't worry, Spikey, I got this.”

Cloud was perfectly fine, but Zack needed to be the hero. He was always intended to be the hero. Cloud was only supposed to be the Omega that was saved by the hero. Cloud concentrated, channelled that Jenova destroying energy. It was like HOLY that Aerith once used that Cloud discovered, and he could bestow some it to other people. “Zack, come here.”

Zack leaned over, and Cloud gave Zack some of the purifying energy the Lifestream gave him through a quick peck on the cheek. “That was just for luck, don't get the wrong idea.”

Zack's face turned red and his friend all whistled and cheered. Zack was pumped up and charged at Jenova. His standard issue Shinra Broadsword was engulfed in flames, and the HOLY energy from Cloud. Jenova's body turned to ash. The Calamity was gone for good, and Zack would take the credit. Cloud smiled. It would be as it should've been in the last life. Zack would be the hero of the day, and Cloud could slip quietly into the background.

* * *

Vincent watched Cloud unseen in the corners and shadows. With the help of a comb and hair tie, donning the old Turk suit was a simple matter. It was like returning home, and slipping on a favorite pair of sweat pants. People ignored him, in fact they went out of their way to ignore him. It's as if they would die instantly if they looked at him. In Shinra, the Turks carried a certain reputation. It was well-earned.

With a simple manila folder with a few papers inside, no one questioned where he was going. Just another gofer delivering a file someone in middle management wanted. He entered the Science Department with ease, while Cloud kept the SOLDIER Zack Fair distracted. With him being an Omega, Cloud drew most eyes.

The pheromones Cloud's body produced were potent, even more so lately, and they called out to every Alpha around him. Except that is, for Vincent. Between the trauma of Hojo's experiments and the heartbreak Lucretia gave him, his inner Alpha had little interest in mating any new Omegas. No, every fiber of his being wanted to kill the one that took his intended mate and his child.

Vincent moved silently, invisible to everyone as he followed Cloud and Fair to the lab. Vincent had to control his inner demons when he saw Hojo's gaze turn to Cloud. It was clear the bastard saw a new specimen to take. Cloud was not his to take. If he tried, he would find Cloud more than he could chew.

“Hmmm, fascinating... An Omega, yes, but shows heightened levels to Mako exposure. Luminosity levels of his Mako-Shine are equal to SOLDIERs of First Class. Hmmm, yes!”

Vincent had to push down the urge to kill Hojo then and there. Even Chaos wanted to slay the insect buzzing to close to Omega Weapon. Vincent fantasized cutting off Hojo's head and pissing on his corpse. He wanted to sink his claws into Hojo's flesh and rip him into as many pieces as he did to him. Years of Turk training reined in his lesser instincts. He had to wait for the right moment to kill.

Vincent saw Fair protect Cloud, and relaxed somewhat. In a pinch, Cloud could take care of himself, but he was still his ward and the planet's guardian that he served. Vincent watched as Hojo adjusted the scans to focus on Cloud instead of Fair. Vincent narrowed his eyes. This might be a problem. “Astounding! These mana levels are abnormally high! Similar to Ilfana's and dare I say, surpassing even _Sephiroth's_? Further study is needed.”

Scratch that. Hojo's sick curiosity would definitely be a problem. Cloud was too distracting. Vincent needed to lure away his own target from Cloud. Vincent stepped around the blindspot of the cameras, to find the main control room of the lab. It was currently occupied with other scientists. They glanced at him. Vincent was as cool as stone. “Veld requires copies of all records of the current SOLDIER lab results.”

The scientist groaned, frustrated by the management of Shinra. “Ugh, again?! We have better things to do than pander to the Turks.”

Vincent raised an eyebrow by a millimeter at this scientist's gull. “Then I will retrieve the lab results myself if you do not mind.”

The other scientists were naturally wary of the Turks. Several of the scientist's colleagues pulled at the man's sleeves. A faint whiff revealed the scientist who gave him lip to be an Alpha, probably the token of gender diversity in the Science Department filled with Betas. Vincent could hear his Beta co-workers whisper to him, “He's a Turk. You really don't want to mess with them.”

“Yeah, let's just leave him to his work and get out of his way.”

The Alpha Scientist must of sensed Vincent's own Alpha pheromones, mixed with a tinge of something _other_ , and instinctively backed away from the apex predator in the room. “Yeah, the room's all yours. Have a nice day.”

Vincent nodded and pulled up records of this month's results on the SOLDIERs and started printing them out. When walked into a blindspot in the control room. He tapped the wire in his ear. “Verdot. Now.”

Vincent saw the cameras above him blink and then die. Now he got to his real work. He slipped out a flash drive Veld gave him and the security in the computer was overridden. Vincent now had full access. With a quick search he found Jenova's containment area, and the surrounding pods with failed experiments. It was all connected to Rector Zero. Vincent smirked as the idea struck him.

With the stroke of a few keys, he created a glitch in the connecting power conduits from Reactor Zero. The feedback would blow the locks off all the cages and pods, and it would create a shut down of Reactor Zero. Vincent found the Waste Disposal command for Jenova's tank. She would fight back of course, but it would make Jenova's main body react to the imminent threat. Vincent would know exactly where Hojo would go running.

The alarms came on the moment tortured lab animals escaped from the their cages. Jenova started panicking and came to life as the shrine Hojo put her in was now trying to flush her down into the incinerator. Predictably the SOLDIER failures, mindless drones swarmed around her free of their containment pods and hacked away at the tubes trying to flush her down, causing even more damage and chaos, attracting Security to put them all down.

Vincent left, his work there done and moved like a silent shadow to where Cloud, Fair and Hojo were. Ducking against a wall he heard Hojo panic and scream at someone over his PHS. “Specimen J... Is active? What do you mean it's going berserk?! How?! It's escaping its tank?! _All_ of the specimens have escaped?! Hello?! Answer me, you imbecile!”

Vincent saw Hojo run past him, not even noticing the shadow of death following in his footsteps. Chaos whispered of the taint of Jenova pulsing through him. Vincent knew. Hojo was a monster on the inside as well as the outside. The greasy skin he wore like an ill-fitting raincoat barely passed for human.

A rumble beneath their feet signaled Reactor Zero shutting down due to the damage from The Drum. Vincent glanced above and saw the camera's die. Now was the time. Vincent took out his gun, aimed, and fired. Hojo fell flat on the floor. The unnatural chemicals and Jenova's cells worked desperately to knit the wound together and keep in the blood in. Vincent picked Hojo up by the neck and dragged him in a lab where normal dogs were transformed into monsters. It was isolated, closed off. No one would hear him plead for mercy. Vincent kicked him over.

Hojo coughed up blood looked up at Vincent, startled. His surprise morphed into fury. “A T-turk?! How dare you! I'm indispensable to this company!”

Vincent took off the shades, baring his fangs at this lowly cockroach of a man. “Try again, _Hojo_.”

Hojo's eyes widened, finally recognizing Vincent, his smile was as greasy as his soul. “Valentine? Why, what a pleasant surprise! Come to finally kill me, eh? Go right ahead.”

Vincent shot two times, at both his hands moving to a syringe in his coat pocket. Vincent plucked the needle filled with Jenova cells. Through Chaos he summoned a blast of Hellfire and Jenovas's cells burned. “Yes. I am here to kill you... and your work. You will die a failure with no legacy left.”

Hojo still had that smile. “Go ahead, and try. You'll find it difficult, my great work is already in motion and soon you'll find my _ghost_ haunting you again.”

Vincent snorted. “I know about DEEPGROUND and Reactor Zero. Your work there is still far from complete... Making it easy to destroy before it is finished.”

A flicker of fear in Hojo's eyes. Good. Vincent watched as Hojo's body was trying to heal the bullet wounds. Vincent wanted this man to die knowing all of his work was going up in flame. “Your projects down there have been taken care of by the reactor meltdown. My ward, of whom I am the Harbinger for, has already started destroying Jenova and everyone who carries her taint.”

Hojo was showing true fear for the first time. “NO! It can't be! That little _Omega_ \- The Omega Weapon?! It can't be!”

Vincent shot Hojo again, this time in his legs. He would not be running from his death. Still the bastard breathed. “Lucretia's theory on Chaos and Omega was correct. She used the Protomateria she and my father discovered to revive me as Chaos's human avatar. Your Jenova Reunion Theory will pale in comparison to her work. Even Gast's research on the planet's Weapons will gain more fame.”

That was what Hojo feared most. Not death. Not torture. But insignificance. To written off as a minor scientist. “Sephiroth is still the greatest SOLDIER ever produced by Shinra! His fame shall be mine!”

Vincent put the final nail in Hojo's coffin for all his hopes and dreams. “That little _Omega creature_ as you called him, has already captured Sephiroth's mind, not Jenova. Her cells you injected into Sephiroth had long since been destroyed... And replaced. Have you truly not noticed another has usurped him?”

There. Hojo's hopes and dreams were dead. The black piece of shit he called a heart crumbled before Vincent's eyes. “No... The blood samples taken every month... They were optimal. The J-cells were just fully integrated into genetic structure, that's why they couldn't be found. Sephiroth's performance has increased so that means the J-cells were working... They just mutated. That's why his blood was different. My work has not been taken. No, no, no. It can't be... Jenova is his mother, her genes can't be rewritten.”

To Vincent it was sad how this fool couldn't see what was happening under his own nose. “You are a fool. Sephiroth's mother is Lucretia, not Jenova. I am his father, not you. Your so-called son and 'greatest work' will fall to his Alpha instincts, and forsake Jenova's legacy to chase an Omega like any other _ordinary_ Alpha in love.”

Vincent never knew how satisfying until now, to see this monster underneath his boot suffering, and knowing that everything he cherished had been snatched from him. Vincent pressed his boot down harder, enjoying the look of fear and desperation on Hojo's face as he was slowly bleeding out. Hojo's lungs were filling up with blood so he couldn't even scream or spit curses at him. Vincent aimed Death Penalty at Hojo's head. “I'm taking my son back, you son of a bitch.”

Bang. The top of Hojo's head had been blown off. His sick mind was nothing more than a smear on the floor. Vincent heard the howls of the lab dogs scratching at their cages, hungry for something to eat. Vincent obliged them. With a flip of a switch on the wall, the cages opened and the hungry lab dogs descended on Hojo's corpse. Vincent stood, watching as Hojo was devoured by the very creatures he tormented. It was fitting, especially since the Turks were often called “Shinra's personal lap dogs.” Vincent smiled, then he laughed and kept laughing until tears were streaming down his face. He caught his breath again, feeling so human. “You really shouldn't have shot me, Hojo.”

Vincent took a deep breath, the scent of Hojo's blood and guts perfumed the air. He was free at last. Remembering the Deepground Project, Vincent moved. The reactor may have shut down, but he still needed to raze the entire facility down there. Since the Wutai War was far from over, Shelke, Nero, and Weiss would not be there yet. It was only just starting to be built and would be easy to take down.

Vincent decided to take advantage of the escape of all the lab experiments. He stripped himself of his Turk suit and took on the form of the wolf-like Gailan Beast. Down the stairs and tunnels he took off until he reached Deepground. There, he let loose, destroying everything in sight. It would take years for Shinra to recover from this Reactor's loss. Far up above he felt Cloud's presence shine brightly as he dealt with his own battle against Jenova.

Vincent roared in victory, standing in the fire and rubble that was once Hojo's ambitions. Jenova was dead. Hojo was dead, and the planet freed of the threat they posed. With Reactor Zero so thoroughly trashed, Shinra's drain on the planet was slowed down by a little. She would be able to breathe a little more tonight. Vincent ran on all fours up the pipes and tunnels. It was time to return to his human form and find Veld. Vincent would return the favor.

Vincent put his suit back on, combed his hair, straightened his tie and walked out of the lab he had come from, stepping over the bodies and rubble to the lower floors. He took the stairs and exited on the Turk floor, or as it was publicly known “The Department of Internal Affairs.”

Vincent didn't garner much scrutiny from the other Turks, only a curious stare or two as he walked straight into Veld's office. “Job is done.”

Veld closed the blinds and locked the door. They were alone. “I'm glad, I could help you... Partner.”

Vincent's lips twitched. “As am I... Partner.”

Veld's phone was ringing off the hook, no doubt from the other department heads and the President himself wanting to know what the hell was going on. “Looks like I've got a mess to clean up, I suppose that's fair since you've done all the clean up on my messes.”

Vincent shrugged. “Well... I can clean up one last mess of yours, for old times sake of course.”

Veld gestured to the phone. “Be my guest.”

Vincent shook his head. He owed his friend this. “Not that. Your daughter, Elfe.”

Veld's smile fell. “What about her?”

Vincent glanced at the man's prosthetic hand. “She's alive. A group known as Avalanche has taken her into their fold. She has amnesia and a doctor known as Fuhito plans on experimenting on her to fuse her with one of the planet's Weapons. Jade, I believe is it's name.”

Vincent then gave Veld a slip of paper with his personnel PHS on it. “Give me a call when you need me to bail you out, Verdot.”

Veld took it with his good hand, trembling at the hope his friend had given him. “You got it, Vinnie... And I'll keep looking out for your son, Sephiroth.”

Vincent nodded. “Thank you. Good-bye for now, Verdot... I must get myself and my ward Cloud out of Shinra with little suspicion.”

Veld held out his good hand, which Vincent gladly took. Without another word, they parted. Vincent vanished like a ghost, satisfied that his old partner will have a better end than what he had caught glimpses of in that other future. Hopefully Veld could save his daughter and keep his seat in the Turks a little longer. He and Cloud would need him in the future. He laughed. Sephiroth's personal Omega delivery boy was a lot more than just a cute face after all.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The Ex-presso Delivery
> 
> Unfortunately I will have to take a break due to crazy family stuff happening in my life, so the next one will be late, but hopefully I've left y'all at a nice satisfying point rather than a cliffhanger.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment and hit that kudos button below!
> 
> Edit: There is fanart now! Check it out: https://empearts.tumblr.com/post/642511395088416768/some-sketches-inspired-of-the-fic-cloud-through


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